Up 17.3%, down 6.7%: how flat prices are changing across France
Largest cities saw little change but other areas vary considerably in fortunes
Changes in flat prices across France varied considerably between the start of 2025 and 2026 with no clear pattern of growth or drop in value.
While more cities saw prices increase than decrease across the year, in most cases this was little over 2%, showing only limited growth in the sector.
Prices per m² fell particularly in the west and central areas, including among some of the least expensive cities.
House prices saw a similar positive trend across the year.
The information comes from the latest dataset from the Notaires de France, the most comprehensive for property price changes in France.
It covers the sale of all existing homes (typically those five years or older and with at least one previous owner) across a given time period.
It is the most accurate data on house prices in France but due to the time it takes to compile the information, comes out a few months after the period it covers.
The data below covers year-on-year changes between January 1, 2025 - March 31 2025 and January 1, 2026 to March 31, 2026. This means it essentially covers the 2025 year.
Wide variations in price change
Among cities that saw flat prices grow, Mulhouse (Haut-Rhin) was a clear outlier, with an increase of +17.3% across the year, well higher than any other city.
The other cities and areas to see the biggest growth were:
Haute-Corse, +10.3%
Amiens (Somme), +8.4%
Orléans (Loiret), +3.8%
Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône), +3.3%
Lille (Nord), +2.6%
While several cities saw prices drop across the period, changes were less dramatic than in Mulhouse and Corsica.
The areas to see prices drop the most were:
Poitiers (Vienne), -6.7%
Rouen (Seine-Maritime), -6.3%
Corse-du-Sud, -4.4%
Nîmes (Gard), -4.1%
Grenoble (Isère), -3.6%
Saint-Etienne (Loire), -3.4%
Prices in major cities remained relatively stable, including Paris (+1%), Nice (Alpes-Maritimes, +2%) Lyon (Rhône, +1.2%) and Bordeaux (Gironde, -0.9%).
Nantes (Loire-Atlantique) was the only major city to see a significant drop in prices, at -3%.
Prices drop in least expensive cities, south remains costlier
Similar to house prices, the most expensive areas of France for buying a flat remain unchanged.
Paris is by far and away the most expensive (average price of €9,600 per m²), yet remains well below the previous symbolic €10,000 per m² seen before the Covid crisis and post-Covid property market slump.
Otherwise, the most expensive areas are generally in the south or in larger cities, with the most expensive being:
Nice (Alpes-Maritimes), €4,850 per m²
Lyon (Rhône), €4,390
Bordeaux (Gironde), €3,970
Bayonne (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), €3,950
Corse-du-Sud, €3,840
Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine), €3,650
This order is almost identical to the previous data notaires released in the last quarter.
In turn, the least expensive areas remain the mid-size cities of central and western France, where prices can be around eight times cheaper per m² than in the capital.
The least expensive cities are:
Saint-Etienne (Loire), €1,110 per m²
Mulhouse (Haut-Rhin), €1,330
Limoges (Haute-Vienne), €1,420
Bourges (Cher), €1,500
Besançon (Doubs), €2,060
Poitiers (Vienne), €2,100
You can see the full information in our map below.
