The real estate diversity of Paris’s 18th arrondissement

While the 18th is still one of the most affordable arrondissements in the capital, real estate prices have risen by more than 34% in just five years.

Eclectic.  This is the word most often used to describe the 18th arrondissement, both in terms of its population and its real estate prices. “It’s hard to find an average. In this arrondissement in the north of the capital, you have prices ranging from 8,000 euros per m² to 16,000 euros per m² all on the same street, depending on the type of property and the floor level,” says Alexandre Sangan, head of the real estate agency L’Agence des Abbesses. Each borough within the 18th has its own micro-market.

From Guy-Môquet to Les Epinettes, prices range from 8,600 euros per m² to 11,000 euros per m². Near Simplon metro station (line 4) or Porte de Clignancourt, prices are slightly above 9,000 euros per m². As soon as you venture to Lamarck-Caulaincourt (line 12), they easily reach 12,000 euros per square meter and once you’ve spotted la butte Montmartre, prices skyrocket. Apartments and houses here are negotiated at several million euros, from Avenue Junot and Abbesses, to the streets surrounding Sacré-Cœur.

Quarantine doesn’t seem to have had any impact on the situation either: “We continued our operations during this period. Out of the nineteen transactions in progress, only one was never completed, as it was a rental investment. The buyer preferred to wait and see what would happen on the market. For so-called “exceptional” properties, with a view, an outdoor space, or ‘zero defects’, prices will remain stable. On the other hand, for more complicated properties with lower demand, there is a risk of a drop,” anticipates the real estate agent.

New-builds possible

The district is divided into two areas: the Northeast for the tightest budgets and the Southwest, where white-collar Parisian executives and professionals with a better profile have invested.

Prices are thus lower, close to 7,000 euros per m², in La Goutte-d’Or, Château-Rouge, and Porte de La Chapelle: “This is where investors looking for a return position themselves. They can get anywhere from 4% to 7% gross,” estimates Sylvain Nouallet, president of the Orpi Rive droite EIG. “They’re winners on all fronts, as they also anticipate future capital gains. For them, these neighborhoods are bound to evolve over time, like we’ve seen in the Marais over the past forty years. These are areas where prices rise quickly. In 2019 alone, prices in the Goutte-d’Or rose by 12.5%,” he adds.

“In only five years, real estate prices in the 18th have jumped by more than 33.2%,” notes MeilleursAgents, “and by 6.3% on average over one year.”

Buyers can also turn to new-builds. There are still a few plots of land in this arrondissement where it is possible to build homes, which is sometimes cheaper than buying: “Prices range from 9,500 euros per m² to 12,000 euros per m², with a few peaks at more than 15,000 euros per m² for exceptional properties,” notes Olivier Waintraub, managing director of Nexity Seeri.

This is the case for the new complex being built by Cogedim at 122 rue Damrémont, with 5 room apartments at 110 square meters for 2,070,000 euros, or more than 18,000 euros per square meter.

On average, however, new property prices reach about 10,500 euros per m², according to France’s Observatoire du logement neuf (New Housing Observatory).

With the slow recovery of the construction sector since the quarantine and with social distancing to be respected on building sites, the next complexes could very well be a few months behind schedule before getting off the ground.

Source: Immobilier : la diversité du 18e arrondissement de Paris