Navigating the competitive real estate market can be disheartening, especially when encountering listings marked as unavailable. However, off-market properties are becoming accessible through real estate hunters, a growing profession in France. These hunters help clients find apartments, even in high-demand areas, easing the search process. While hiring an apartment hunter incurs a fee of 2-3% of the property’s price, clients like Sandra have found their expertise invaluable, despite some challenges with initial property suggestions and additional costs.
Have you ever found yourself disheartened while browsing real estate listings, only to see the dreaded message, “this property is no longer available”? Imagine if you could get a heads-up on properties that are about to hit the market in your desired area before they are publicly listed on platforms like SeLoger or Bien’ici. Fortunately, this is not just a dream, and it’s not limited to just luxury properties. Research indicates that while 60% of high-end real estate transactions occur “off market,” this figure also approaches 10% for other segments of the market, according to Mon Chasseur Immo.
The Emerging Role of Apartment Hunters in France
If you’re not part of an insider circle, you can still access off-market deals by hiring a real estate hunter. This profession is relatively new to France, emerging over the last decade. Mon Chasseur Immo claims to be “the only national network, competing against regional players”, and they receive around 200 off-market properties weekly from various real estate agencies.
These properties are offered to a diverse clientele that ranges from rental investors searching for a studio priced at 60,000 euros in the provinces to buyers looking for luxurious apartments priced between 6 to 8 million euros in Paris, as described by Cyrille Keff. He elaborates that clients typically include individuals relocating for work, those who lack the time for extensive house hunting, and first-time buyers seeking guidance.
Finding the Right Apartment Hunter for Your Needs
This scenario mirrors the journey of Sandra, who in 2019 decided to purchase her first apartment in Paris. With credit rates at an all-time low, the demand for studios and two-room apartments was skyrocketing. Sandra recalls, “Every time I found a property I liked, the agency informed me it had already been sold within an hour of its listing… Searching for an apartment became a full-time job, which I simply couldn’t manage!” To get ahead, she decided to enlist the help of an apartment hunter, a service gaining traction thanks to popular television shows.
“I conducted thorough online research and narrowed it down to a couple of highly-rated options,” she shares. Cyrille Keff supports this approach, emphasizing the importance of ensuring that the hunter collaborates with reputable credit brokers who can also assist with financing. However, Sandra’s experience began on a rocky note: “Though I wanted to settle in the 18th arrondissement near the metro, the hunter suggested an apartment in the 20th, which was quite far away… The property and the co-op were in terrible condition…” This was followed by a 17-square-meter apartment in a better location but misrepresented as “equivalent to a two-room apartment…”
The Financial Aspects of Hiring an Apartment Hunter
Ultimately, it was the apartment hunter who helped Sandra secure her dream apartment in the 18th. “Without his assistance, I would have faced a much longer search,” she reflects, noting that it took less than three months from her initial contact with the hunter to the final purchase agreement. She adds, “Things could have progressed even faster if not for the lockdowns in 2020.” According to Cyrille Keff, “On average, an apartment hunter can reduce the search time by 10.”
So, what does it cost to hire an apartment hunter? Typically, fees are paid upon signing the purchase deed and are regulated by the Hoguet law governing real estate agents, amounting to “2 to 3% of the property price”, notes the general director of Mon Chasseur Immo. For Sandra, the fee was higher; she paid her hunter 10,000 euros for a property priced at 200,000 euros. This cost was in addition to agency and notary fees, a decision she sometimes questions. “Initially, I was grateful for the hunter’s help. However, five years later, considering some issues with the co-ownership, I feel he could have assisted me more in reviewing the general assembly minutes… That 10,000 euros might have been better spent on renovations or even expanding my living space.”