Prime residential markets in Europe’s top cities: how does Paris compare?

A new report concludes that Paris offers increasingly good value compared with some other top European cities.

European Cities Review looks at the prestige residential market in 14 European cities* since the financial crisis took hold in 2008. Since that date, investors from emerging markets have increasingly invested in luxury homes in Europe to protect their capital. This benefited cities such as London and Vienna, which were seen as safe havens. As the global economy improves, albeit unevenly, the safe haven effect is likely to be less influential as investors focus more on lifestyle benefits. Europe continues to appeal to wealthy non-European investors, owing to its varied cultures, history and architecture. The report compares the 14 cities on a variety of indicators, including the main reason for purchasing cited by buyers, market activity and price ranges. In Paris, quality of life was the main reason buyers gave for buying, while market activity in the city was on the increase in 2013. With an average price range of €12,000-€17,000/m² for luxury homes, Paris offers better value than Monaco (up to €40,000/m²), London (€32,000/m²), Geneva (€25,000/m²) or Vienna (€25,000/m²). You can, of course, pay much more for exceptional properties in prime Paris locations. A comparison of prices for prime properties shows how much space in square meters €1 million will buy you. Monaco offers the least value at 20.6 m² followed by London at 33.2 m², whereas in Paris you can get 56.4 m² for that price. As for the outlook, the report considers that demand will be sustained in Paris, which is highly prized by both foreign and domestic buyers. It predicts that Paris, Barcelona and Rome will join Dublin and Madrid as growth markets in 2014. *The 14 cities were: Barcelona, Dublin, Florence, Geneva, London, Madrid, Monaco, Moscow, Munich, Paris, Rome, Venice, Vienna, and Zurich.