France experienced a “historic” drop in sales in 2023, according to Fnaim

This 22% decline is expected to continue to a lesser extent in 2024, a year which could also be marked by an acceleration in the fall in prices.

After two years of post-Covid surge, the plunge. The French real estate market recorded a “historic fall” sales in 2023, announced Tuesday January 17, the National Real Estate Federation (Fnaim). In one year, the market recorded 875,000 transactions in existing properties, or 240,000 fewer sales compared to 2022, a drop of 22%.

“This market has experienced an extremely brutal deceleration, the biggest drop in sales in 50 years”underlined Loïc Cantin, president of Fnaim, who predicts a continuation of this decline in 2024 (-10%). “This deceleration can be explained by the combined effect of inflation, the rise in interest rates and the growing difficulties of accessing real estate credit”notes the federation.

The fall in sales, however, is not considered alarming by the sector, which rather sees it as a return to normal. In fact, prices had continued to increase since 2009. In 2023, except in Paris and its suburbs, where prices decreased by -5.7% and -3.6% respectively, as well as in most in large provincial towns (-2.6%), prices only experienced a sham drop in the rest of the territory (-1%).

A clear drop in prices expected in 2024

For 2024, the sector is counting on a stabilization, or even a slight drop in interest rates, which should be accompanied by a relaxation of credit conditions. Above all, he anticipates an acceleration in the fall in prices, between -5% and -7%.

In the meantime, Fnaim draws up a particularly gloomy assessment of the rental market. Unable to buy, buyers resort to renting. “There is a total strangulation of rental supply in all French territories”declared Loïc Cantin, referring to students who stay with their parents and businesses “constrained to build housing as close as possible to their place of production”.