French property price data is now more transparent: but what to do with it?

It was only in 2011 that the French Notaires started making public their data on property in France. And this year, individual transaction prices have become more easily accessible: but beware of data without interpretation. Unlike the US and the UK, France has no Multiple Listings Service (MLS). The taboo around talking about the value of one’s home is far more accentuated in France than in the Anglo-Saxon world, even if it is still a sensitive topic in the latter. Meilleursagents has for the last few years provided detailed property price maps of France using data obtained from partnering estate agents. And now it is possible to find out from the official Notaires’ central repository how much nearby properties were sold for. But be cautious in drawing too much from the data. No two properties are alike so one still needs a professional to break this info down for you. What impact does a renovation, different floor level, size or placement within the building have? For example, don’t assume that because your upstairs neighbor’s apartment sold for €9,000 per m2 that yours will too. Price data shows that if you live in a building with a lift, prices increase all the way to the top. And if your building has no lift, your property might be worth even more! On average, a lift-less building’s property values will fall from the 4th to the 5th floor (the 3rd and 4th being the most valuable). A plethora of other factors must be taken into account when valuing a property in France. Does your apartment face the street or an inner courtyard? How recently was it renovated? Does it have a different layout to your neighbor’s apartment, giving it more or fewer ‘dead zones’ like corridors and corners that might affect its valuation per m2?