The period of significant property price fluctuations linked to the post-Covid housing downturn now appears to be firmly over in France, according to the latest report from Notaires de France.
The market is now experiencing slow but sustained growth in most areas, although some cities continue to see prices drop.
The figures are drawn from the latest report by Notaires de France, the most comprehensive in the country as it includes all sales of existing, non-new-build properties.
It covers full data up to two quarters prior to the publication date – in this instance, up to December 31, 2025.
However, it also uses current trends to predict future changes in the market.
Our article below looks at data comparing the price of non-new-build houses between October/December 2024 and October/December 2025.
It shows prices as of the end of this period, as well as the year-on-year change in prices.
Sustained price increases
Overall, most cities saw property prices increase across the period.
The biggest increases were recorded in:
Tours (Indre-et-Loire), +8.3%
Metz (Moselle), +6.6%
Dijon (Côte-d'Or), +5.9%
Montpellier (Hérault), +5.8%
Lyon (Rhône), + 5.5%
Brest (Finistère) and Marseille/Aix (Bouches-du-Rhône), +4.3%
Compared to the two most recent data sets (covering Q2 and Q3 of 2025), more cities are seeing year-on-year growth rates above 5%, without the occasional outlier of double-digit increases seen in the Corsican departments.
Despite this general growth, some areas recorded price drops, the strongest being:
Grenoble (Isère), -3.2%
Haute-Corse, -2.9%
Limoges (Haute-Vienne), -2.5%
Nantes (Loire-Aquitaine), -1.9%
Corse-du-Sud, -1.6%
Nancy (Meurthe-et-Moselle), -1.5%
Again, compared to previous data sets these drops are considerably lower than others across the past two years, showing that the market has largely reoriented itself.
Previously, cities such as Nantes saw prices drop by more than -10% across a 12-month period.
It is worth noting that Tours and Montpellier, both among the biggest risers in the most recent data set, were among those to record year-on-year losses earlier in 2025.
Perhaps most surprising is that both Corsican departments recorded prices dropping after sustained growth.
South remains an expensive area
The list of most expensive cities remains essentially unchanged, with France’s major urban areas taking the lead.
The south generally remains an expensive area to live, particularly as many of its largest cities are seeing prices rise.
All but one of the top five most expensive cities were located along the south coast/southernmost regions.
Note that the data does not include certain cities such as Nice (Alpes-Maritimes), due to the relatively small number of houses as compared to flats (which are covered in a separate map).
Similarly, Paris is also included in the wider Île-de-France area for houses – due to most lodgings in Paris being flats – meaning it is not the most expensive on the list.
