Paris real estate outperforms previous boom years

According to the notaires of Paris and Île-de-France, the real estate market has greatly improved this year, with lower prices and sales volumes up over 15% since last year.  Levels are now higher than those of the 1999 to 2007 boom years.

A new report by the Île-de-France notaires finds that between August and October in particular, transactions were up 29% compared to the same period last year, totaling 43,000 sales. Moreover, sales volumes have increased by 17% compared to the average of the past decade, and even exceed the median volumes of the “high activity” period of 1999 to 2007 by 6%.

The notaires state that “the results for the months of September and October, after a slow month of August, have confirmed the recovery of the real estate market.” Moreover, they note that the market’s activity has not subsided in November in the region and, therefore, “the recovery observed since the spring has led to a much better year for the Île-de-France real estate market in 2015 than in 2014.” Between August and October, buyers have been more active in the Parisian suburbs (+36%) than in the near suburbs (+24%) and central Paris (+25%), but overall sales volumes have strongly increased.

Where prices are concerned, they have stabilized for houses (+0.2%) and have declined slightly for apartments (-0.9%). Prices are expected to remain stable in the Île-de-France region in coming months, staying put at their current average of 5,310 euros per square meter. In Paris, the notaires believe prices will average out at 8,050 euros per square meter in February 2016, which is fairly similar to the October average (8,040€ per m2).

These averages disguise high prices for properties in certain prized locations in the capital. For instance, the 1^st, 4^th, 6^th and 7^th arrondissements present prices exceed 11,000 euros per square meter. According to the notaires, while the market’s recovery is clear, the economic climate is still fragile. It is therefore essential for real estate prices to remain reasonable to ensure the continued growth of the property sector.

Photo credit: Wikimedia / Thomas van de Weerd