Paris’ Belleville neighborhood in the 20th is a bargain for buy-to-lets and pied-a-terres

The working class borough of Belleville is one to watch for those looking to buy property in Paris. 

The neighborhood that straddles four arrondissements is turning heads for its rapid boboisation and piquing the interest of thrifty investors and buyers, as property prices remain low and are forecast to grow rapidly in future. Both buy-to-let investors and those looking for an affordable Paris pied-a-terre should take notice.

Why? Apartments in Belleville fetch only €7,606 per m2 net-to-seller (without agency commission included) on average, placing it in the three most affordable arrondissements for buyers and 25% cheaper than the average. The 20th arrondissement, in which the bulk of the neighborhood lies, saw prices grow 8.1% in the past year according to Seloger – the 8th fastest in the city.

Recent property listings include one-bed apartments of 31.5 m2 for €265,000 (Rue des Pyrénées – approaching the Buttes Chaumont) or 22 m2 for €180,000 (rue de la Duée).

It contains one of the city’s two Chinatowns, the other is located in the 13th arrondissement near the Place d’Italie. The latter lies mainly along the wide Avenue de Choisy, while Belleville’s sits on the narrower and visibly more hectic Rue de Belleville, where Chinese restaurants are intermingled with fashionable bars where the young and trendy crowds seek less obviously bobo territory than the nearby Parmentier offers.

Up that road and left, you get to the Butte Chaumont, the biggest park within the city boundary (the Bois de Boulogne and Vincennes are mostly outside the city limits).

Along the Boulevard de Belleville there are a jumble of market stalls, butchers and discount supermarkets. True, it’s not the most eye-catching place and you’re a long way from the quintessential Haussmannian architecture of the 16th and 17th, but it has its own charm – and room for appreciation!

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