Paris real estate prices expected to set record highs

“There will be a new record in Paris,” according to Thierry Delesalle, a spokesman for the notaries of Paris, during a recent press conference, adding that the leading indicators point to higher prices in September and October.  The pricing declines seen in the fourth quarter 2011 and first quarter of 2012 seem to have fizzled.  Overall, real estate prices in Paris now stand at 2.5% over last year, but the gains vary widely by neighborhood.

In the second quarter, prices started to rebound (+1.0%), approaching the recent records set in the third quarter of 2011 (8370 euros per square meter) to 8340 euros per square meter, according to figures released Thursday by the notaries of Paris.

Paris prices vary widely:  on the low end, 5900 euros per square meter in the neighborhood of Goutte-d’Or (slightly down 1.5% for the year) in the 18th arrondissement and on the high end, 15,530 euros per square meter on the Champs-Elysées (in the 8th), which boasts an increase of 20.1% over one year.

The situation in Ile-de-France as a whole is more nuanced than Paris, but prices fell  slightly in the inner suburbs (-0.3%) as well as the outer suburbs (-0.5%) . “The prices do not drop significantly,” noted Philippe Sansot, a notary in Montmorency (Val d’Oise), despite a big drop in the number of transactions (21% in Paris and Ile-de-France).

Read the full article in French.