After declining in 2020, because of the first confinement, the number of real estate sales has increased significantly: last year, it reached 1.2 million sales. Never have transactions been so fast, within an average period of less than three months. The Covid-19 pandemic has boosted the French people’s desire to move. They looked to buy bigger, more comfortable, with an exterior. To buy a second home too when they could.
The French have changed region, have moved away from their jobs a little thanks to teleworking. To this must be added the investors who voted for the stone at a time when, with the crisis, there was a lot of uncertainty about other investments!
And that made the prices go up. Faced with this significant demand, the price per square meter has continued to increase. At the national level, it takes on average 2,300 euros for a house and 3,800 euros for an apartment, an increase of more than 7% for houses, 5% for apartments.
What strikes real estate agents is that prices have gone up everywhere when usually there were always areas in retreat. According to Century 21, in Brittany for example, apartment prices have gained 21% in one year, unprecedented. Prices have gained 12% in Normandy and more than 13% in Nouvelle-Aquitaine for houses.
In Île-de-France, there is an important change: the outskirts are doing better than Paris, with + 12% price increase for houses in Yvelines, almost 10% more in Hauts de Seine. While in the capital, prices have tended to drop by 2% on average. Even if, be careful, the Parisian square meter still exceeds 10,300 euros and the buying and selling market is still very dynamic.
The most modest households will find it even more difficult to buy. For the most modest, young people, first-time buyers, the precarious, the Century 21 branch network, even speaks of “risk of elimination” from the market. According to their estimates, these prices will continue to increase: the goods for sale are increasingly rare and the choice is reduced.
And then, the conditions for obtaining a loan have tightened a lot following the new banking regulations. Despite very low borrowing rates, it is necessary to present more and more personal contribution. According to Century 21, last year, it was more than 32,000 euros on average to have a loan of 250,000 euros.