The real estate boom continues in the Paris suburbs

In all the departments of Ile de France, Parisians migrate to smaller suburban towns in search of a better quality of life. 

Hauts-de-Seine: the choice of Parisians

The large supply of houses and greenery combined with the development of transport explains why a large number of Parisians are now exploring the smaller towns surrounding Paris in the Hauts-de-Seine, though those prices seem to be calming down.

In Asnières, high-end properties, from 1 million to 1.5 million euros, continue to attract buyers from Paris, but also from Courbevoie or Levallois, like this family who was seduced by a house to renovate with 8 rooms, 170 m2 on 375 m2 of land, in a quiet street near the station, negotiated 1,438,000€. In a prestigious residence in the center, a couple of Parisians have just fallen for a recent apartment of 175 m2 with terrace and balcony selling at 1.25 million euros. “For more classic properties, the sales times are getting a little longer,” analyzes Caroline Langellier, at Home&CO. Among the attractive districts, the rue des Bourguignons, renovated and repaved, has seen the emergence of shops at the bottom as attractive as at the top: gourmet shops and decoration shops.

Bois-Colombes, a small town of less than 30,000 inhabitants on less than 2 km2, is in high demand and has seen its prices increase: +3% per year for 5 years. It is necessary to count today around 6,800€/m2 for an apartment and 8,000€/m2 for a house. In the Gramme sector, a brick pavilion to renovate, on a plot of 340 m2 with private parking, went for 695,000€. The demand, for many Parisians, is main residences, but investors in search of bargains are also present. On the new side, 4 programs are underway, including L’Emblème, by Bouygues Immobilier, which offers, for example, a 30 m2 studio at 245,000€.

In Boulogne-Billancourt, family apartments and houses are popular. “In the niche market of Boulogne-Nord, demand is strong, fueled by lower prices than in the capital for the same type of property. But sales times are getting longer, and prices are stabilizing at a still high level,” says Michael Kapin, at Daniel Féau Boulogne. According to notaries, in this sector, prices are around 10,000 to 11,500€/m2, or even more, as for this recent 120 m2, duplex with double parking, that sold for 1.7 million euros. The center and the Passages, “an area shared by first-time buyers and investors”, according to Stéphane Avit, director of the Orpi agency, is more attractive: between 9,000 and 10,000€/m2. The south is undergoing a metamorphosis with businesses, new and recent housing and neighborhood life around La Seine Musicale, the Pont de Sèvres and Place Jules-Guesde. The prices vary between 8,000€/m2 in the old and 10,000€/m2 in the very recent.

The dynamism of Clichy no longer needs to be proven. The extension of line 14 has significantly reduced travel time between the city and the various districts of the capital, making it a real transfer market. “50% of our customers are Parisians,” says Alexis Lamey, director of Century 21 Calmette. Although the average price has been stabilizing around 7,500€/m2 for a few months, values ​​are making a big difference. “At the entrance to town, prices are around 8,500€/m2, while in the Berges-de-Seine-Beaujon district they sometimes just barely reach 6,000€/m2”, says the professional. Rue Jean-Walter, a 99 m2 apartment with a large balcony and parking in a modern building found a buyer for 647,000€, or 6,500€/m2. While, rue Bonnet, near Paris, a 33m2 in an old building sold for 266,000€, or 8,060€/m2.

With its greenery and 9,500 pavilions, Colombes never ceases to attract buyers, especially Parisians. Prices there have increased by 20% in ten years and by +3.2% over the last three quarters. It takes 5,600€/m2 on average for an apartment and 7,750€/m2 for a house. Rue des Champarons, a beautiful house in very good condition, with 140 m2 of living space and a basement, with a garage and a garden of 283 m2, sold for 1,250,000€. In recent years the city has begun to renew its housing stock with great bulldozing. No less than 17 new programs are currently on the market, offered by Nexity, Pichet, Kaufman et Broad, BNP Paribas Real Estate and Franco Suisse.

After the euphoria of deconfinement, the excitement has declined slightly in Garches. But the demand, while normalizing, remains demanding. Second-time buyers from Paris are looking for a different main residence: a brighter upper floor, greenery, an exterior (balcony or terrace). The provincial charm of this lively village offers neat pavilions and well-maintained residences on the outskirts of the Parc de Saint-Cloud. In the city center, where they are rarer, the prices of houses with gardens and garages have increased by 2.60% in three months.

Issy-les-Moulineaux attracts many Parisians wanting more spacious accommodation. Here, unlike Meudon, the neighboring town, it is muli-family dwellings that dominates. New construction is being added into the center of town with the Cœur de Ville development, orchestrated by the architects Valode & Pistre, a real feature of the city with 600 new housing units, offices, shops, a crèche… and apartments sold for around 13,000€/m2 with balcony or terrace. The prices of the older existing construction, at 8,000€/m2 on average according to notaries, are not to be outdone in the Corentin-Celton and Town Hall districts. And in the sector of the Saint-Etienne church, with its village atmosphere, they sometimes exceed 8,500€/m2 with renovation. But, according to Eric Bremaud, of the Nestenn agency, “beyond the 3-room apartment, sales are more complicated”. The few houses are located in Saint-Etienne or in Hauts-d’Issy, which will soon be served by a Grand Express Paris station.

Halfway between the west and the south of Paris, served by the train, the RER and the T2 tram, Meudon plays the green and village cards. “The city makes it possible to live in a green and residential environment,” says Thomas Veber, of the Paris Ouest Sotheby’s International Realty agency. Nearly 80% of our buyers come to look for a house in the Bellevue and Val-Fleury sectors near good public or private schools. “Depending on the sectors, the period and the condition of the house, it takes between 1.4 million and 3 million euros for around 200m2 of living space and a garden. Prices that no longer increase. In the old town, the square meter is priced between 5,000 and 7,500€. In Meudon-la-Forêt, near Vélizy, prices can start at 3,500€/m2. The Pointe-de-Trivaux eco-district offers new apartments at around 7,000 €/m2 for the first prices in free access.

In Nanterre, the Mont-Valérien district attracts Parisians looking for a house. There are more offers there than in the center of town, where there are only properties around a million. Far from the RER, this sector is also quieter and benefits from the proximity of Place de la Boule. Buyers from Paris have acquired a 1950s pavilion, 117 m2 on 200 m2 of land, for 635,000€. Telework executives are fleeing areas that are too urban. “The family apartments in the center are languishing,” observes Thomas Bertin, co-manager at Laforêt. Buyers are willing to accept a smaller property to afford an exterior space in more outlying neighborhoods. They opt in particular for green and airy residences with balconies in Chemin-de-l’Ile or Rouget-de Lisle, around 5,000€/m2, as well as for the up-and-coming district around avenue de la Liberté . A recent 2-room apartment of 37 m2, with a balcony, has just sold very quickly there for 250,000€.

Long in short supply, the Rueil-Malmaison market has regained its fluidity. Endowed with a unique cultural and industrial heritage, two stations, three castles, stadiums, green spaces, the city offers a wide variety of properties: old buildings in the small streets around the town hall, high end residences near the avenues of the Empress and the Republic, small houses and large multi-family complexes, as in La Jonchère. The range of prices is also wide: from 5,500€/m2, or even less in the most outlying districts or on the edge of Nanterre, to more than 9,800€/m2 for exceptional properties in desirable areas.

“Saint-Cloud is an alternative for Parisians who cannot buy in Boulogne, but also for those looking for an airy city while enjoying public transport and good French and international schools”, notes Maïeul de Mascureau, of the agency Daniel Feau Saint-Cloud. “85% of our buyers are Parisians looking for an exterior: terrace, balcony or garden,” adds Grégoire Malgrain, of the Laforêt agency. The price of older apartments varies between 6,500€ and 7,900€/m2 depending on condition and location. Recent properties can climb up to 10,000€/m2 on a high floor with exterior. As for houses, on the Montretout plateau, but also on the Val-d’Or and the hillsides, the entry ticket is 1.5 million euros for 145 m2 of living space on 400 m2 of land. In the park of Montretout, secure and sought after, difficult to pick up a house at less than 2.8 million.

Seine-Saint-Denis: in full transition

The supply of new housing is increasing in Seine-Saint-Denis, at prices that are often more affordable than in the neighboring departments.  The department, which will also be better and better served by the metro and the Grand Paris Express, is one of the most conducive to a profitable investment.

Bordering the 18th and 19th arrondissements, Aubervilliers relies above all on its proximity to the capital. “The Porte de la Villette sector is accessible on foot, and there is less distance to travel between Aubervilliers and Paris than between two arrondissements. It is therefore easy to take advantage of all the Parisian infrastructures,” explains Abdel-Malik Djermoune, to the agency L’Adresse. “For the price of 30 m2 in Paris, you will find here a property with an exterior: either a house with a garden, or a recent apartment with a balcony”, adds the professional. A first-time buyer thus acquired a 36m2 apartment near the future line 12 with cellar, 15m2 terrace and 58m2 garden for 210,000 €. The rental market is also doing well, and small areas are attracting investors. The prices in the old town vary from 1,600 to 5,900€/m2.

Aubervilliers, centre ville (JEAN YVES LACOTE)

The Grand Paris metro expansion project is profoundly transforming Bobigny, the prefecture, pushing prices up (+6.2% over two years): between 2,240€ and 4,730€/m2 for an apartment and from 1,870€ to 4,600€/m2 for a house. New neighborhoods such as the Cité de l’Abreuvoir and the city center will emerge in 2023. Eventually, more than 1,000 housing units should see the light of day around a new station. The renovations and the possibility of affording a terrace or a garden appeal to first-time buyers and young couples, who no longer hesitate to pass outside the ring road surrounding Paris. On the Jean-Rostand promenade, on the 6th floor of a recent building, an 80m2 4-room duplex apartment sold for 330,000€. On the nine side, 11 projects are in progress. In the Cadencia project, Vinci Immobilier is offering a 28.4 m2 studio with terrace for 197,000€, or 6,940€/m2.

Since 2006, more than 3,000 new homes have been built in Bondy, not counting the many urban renewal programs, and the city, located 11 kilometers from the center of Paris or 30 minutes by car, will benefit from a new station with multiple connections (line 15, T1, T4, RER E and T Zen3). These new projects are driving prices up. They nevertheless remain affordable, around 3,000€/m2, and mainly attract first-time buyers. For a pavilion from the 1950s-1960s in the northern districts, it is generally necessary to count at least 260,000€. In the Coquetiers sector, a stone’s throw from transport, a former 1930s hotel converted into a 190 m2 house to renovate, with a 300 m2 garden, went for 485,000€.

At the gates of Paris, La Courneuve keeps prices low. You have to count 1,800 to 5,200€/m2 in the older construction and 3,100 to 3,200€/m2 in the new, while the city offers all the amenities: transport (line 7, RER), sports facilities, markets, co-working spaces… Parc Georges-Valbon, with its 417 hectares of greenery and lakes, attracts families and joggers from the region. “It is a practical city for those who work in Paris and need to access it quickly and easily,” explains Stefan Milosavljevic, to the Orpi agency. The buyers are concentrating their research near the 8-May-1945 station, but the work of the Grand Paris Express will add two lines to the town. It costs 170,000€ for a 3-room apartment near the metro, and €250,000 for a small house with a garden and car access.

Montreuil has an environment similar to that of Paris: restaurants, parks, entertainment, small shops, markets but also nurseries, primary schools and high schools. The prices of the old town vary from 3,000 to 10,800€/m2, those of the new construction from 4,900 to 9,100€/m2. “You can find a 3-room apartment here for the price of a 2-room apartment in the capital,” observes Claudia De Sousa, from the Era Immobilier agency. It is thus necessary to count 400,000€ for a 60-m2 near the metro. The liveliest areas are concentrated in the Croix-de-Chavaux and Mairie districts, served by line 9. On the edge of Vincennes, you can quickly reach line 1, and the arrival of the tram and line 11 will open up the neighborhood of Villiers-Barbusse.

Romainville is a destination of choice for families wishing to invest in more spacious housing with a less expensive exterior than in the suburbs bordering Paris such as Montreuil or Les Lilas. Despite a sharp rise until the end of 2020 (some properties have almost doubled their value in ten years), the average purchase price is around 5,600€/m2 for an apartment, and 5,180€/m2 for a house. But, according to the Orpi agency, the need for buyers to acquire a property with a garden or balcony is such that some agree to pay more than the market price. Romainville is attracting new business sectors thanks to the extension of metro line 11. The appearance of new restaurants, shops and activity centers heralds development for the coming years.

The inhabitants of Rosny-sous-Bois appreciate the city’s quality of life, its shopping streets and its accessibility (two RER E stations, access to the A3, A86 and A103, and soon to be an extension of the 11 and arrival of line 15). This explains the good health of the market. Prices average around 3,700€/m2 for an apartment and rise to 4,100€/m2 for a house. “The market is picking up well, houses with exteriors remain more in demand than apartments. The most prominent sectors are the Pré-Gentil, the city center and the Boutours,” explains Nicolas Monti, at Stéphane Plaza Immobilier. Rue Saint-Pierre, a 140 m2 house with an 80 m2 courtyard and parking space sold for 535,000€. The Parisians are arriving, and many of the Rosneans who have left for the past ten years are returning. On the new side, 5 housing develpments are in progress.

With the arrival of the future Pleyel station, Saint-Denis is in turmoil. “Properties do not stay on the market for long,” warns Smail Fertane, of the Saint-Denis Immobilier agency. People who were thinking of settling in Saint-Ouen and see that prices have exploded come here. They visit the pedestrian center, see the basilica, the cheese maker, the pastry chef, the wine bar, and realize that they can have a 3 or 4 room apartment within their budget. Prices range from 1,800 to 6,200€/m2, and in some areas they have increased by almost 30% in five years. Next to the Porte de Paris, a 35m2 sold for 195,000€, and a 160m2 pavilion with a garden in the center went for 670,000€.

Val-de-Marne: green and well connected

Val-de-Marne is on the rise. The department is ideal for buyers working from home, looking for an exterior space, but also an extra room to make an office, with easy access to Paris. Since the summer, prices have stabilized there (around 4,800€/m2 in the second quarter according to the Notaries of Paris Ile-de-France), and the housing supply is growing.

Separated from Paris by the ring road, Ivry-sur-Seine, with a square meter around 5,500€, remains one of the least expensive towns in the first ring around Paris. Already served by the RER C and line 7 of the metro, it has benefited, since the spring of 2021, from the T9, which connects the Porte de Choisy to Orly. Everything is done so that all Ivryans are within 10 minutes of transport. “Requests are pouring in for properties along the T9,” notes Yoni Bensimon, from Cabinet Nicolas. First-time buyers have recently purchased a 43m2 2-room apartment from 1980 at 235,000€. 

Seven kilometers from Paris, in Choisy-le-Roi, on the banks of the Seine, the arrival of the T9 has boosted the city. First-time buyers come from Paris with a budget of around 300,000€. A 3-room apartment from 2008, 63m2 with a 49m2 terrace and parking, went for 308,000€. Cachan, 15 minutes from Châtelet by RER B, and located on line 15 of the Greater Paris, offers a pleasant living environment, suburban, with large schools. Buyers come from Paris and Bourg-la-Reine, seduced by a price per square meter of around 6,000€. “In Le Coteau, houses of 200 to 300m2 with 500m2 of land are negotiated from 900,000€, but sellers tend to overestimate their property”, indicates Stéphanie Fournier, of the Agence du Centre.

Cachan, centre mairie, promenade de la Bièvre (JEAN-YVES LACOTE)

Joinville-le-Pont, to the east, seduces with its banks of the Marne, the proximity of the Bois de Vincennes, direct access to the A4 and the RER A, and displays a square meter around 6,000€. “Buyers come from Paris and Charenton for the quality of life,” notes Alice Bracq, from the Orpi Berec agency. The beautiful properties are trading around 1 million euros. Near the Parc du Tremblay golf course, a 120m2 house on 400m2 of land sold for 980,000€. 

Fontenay-sous-Bois, 15 minutes from the heart of Paris with its two RER A stations, and close to the Bois de Vincennes, is a transfer market from Montreuil and Vincennes. Prices there are around 6,500€/m2. Houses have increased by nearly 15% in one year. “We see buyers arriving with a budget of more than 1 million euros”, observes Olivier James, of the Century 21 agency negotiated 1,250,000€.

Champigny-sur-Marne, 15 kilometers from Paris, with RER A and E and its banks of the Marne, is boosted by the future station of line 15 of Grand Paris and the change in city policy. Prices there have increased by almost 10% in one year, with the square meter trading at around 4,000€. “We are seeing more and more Parisians with a budget of 700,000€”, points out Franck Sasso, from the Orpi Mairie agency. Sucy-en-Brie, mainly a suburban town with more than 45% of green spaces and served by the RER A, seduced by its village side and the forest of Notre-Dame. Current programs are trading at around 6,000€/m2. “We have more and more requests from Parisians looking for individual housing,” notes Olivia Blouin, from Maisons d’Olivia. 

In Les Bruyères, near the forest, 1980s houses of 100 m2 with 500 m2 of land, which were trading for 350,000€ before confinement, now sell for 450,000€ or even 500,000€, despite the nuisance of the corridor air. In the town centre, you have to budget 1,200,000€ for a 200m2 house on 500 to 800 m2 of land.

Outer suburbs: towns to discover

The rush of ultra-urban dwellers towards medium-sized towns in the middle of the countryside has resulted, in the greater Parisian suburbs, in a shortage of properties for sale in the flagship cities. Fortunately, there are, in their shadow, small lesser-known towns, easy to live with, well served, and often less expensive.

Next to Fontainebleau, for example, where a bourgeois house of 200m2 on a plot of 250m2, with a lot of work to be expected, sold for 820,000€, is Nemours… where a similar property in perfect condition has gone at 400,000€. “Its stone town center, with its canals, its church and its castle, is charming”, describes Damien Boufflers, at Guy Hoquet. There are also small 20-year-old pavilions at around 205,000€ for 90m2 on 500m2 of land. Still in Seine-et-Marne, Chelles, from where you can reach Paris in 25 minutes, was stormed. A pretty millstone in good condition, 100m2 on 400m2 of land, costs 450,000€. The rates are the same but the offer is wider in Vaires-sur-Marne or Lagny-sur-Marne, which have kept their village soul. “They also benefit from the employment pool of Disney”, underlines Sylvain Roux, manager of the Arthurimmo.com agency in Chelles. “In Seine-et-Marne, first-time buyers have given way to wealthier buyers” Audrey Julitte is an iad France real estate advisor in Verneuil-l’Etang, in Seine-et-Marne.

How was the start of the school year in Seine-et-Marne?

It was very active, but, due to the rise in prices (+7% in one year), the profile of buyers has changed: local first-time buyers are forced to move away towards the limit of the department close to the ‘Yonne, Aube or Marne to find a property within their budget. They have given way to more affluent buyers from the inner suburbs, who are looking for modern or older houses, in particular renovated properties, of a hundred square meters around 280,000 to 350,000€, with a work space in housing, a garden of 200 to 500m2 and a garage. They want to be able to walk to the station and to school, and benefit from the advantages of village life.

What is their profile ?

They are executives, business leaders, self-employed, aged 40 on average, often second-time buyers, couples with one or two children. It should be noted that many of them do what is necessary for their parents to buy housing close to their new place of residence.

In Viry-Châtillon, in Essonne, a 61m2 apartment overlooking the lake sold in just seven days for 250,000€. That is 4,098€/m2, compared to the average 3,700€/m2 and 3,000€/m2 in Villemoisson-sur-Orge and Epinay-sur-Orge. “In these green towns served by the RER C, there are many houses”, explains Thierry Lapart, president of the Orpi network for Essonne. In Epinay, it costs between 290,000€ for a building of 80m2 and 450,000€ for 130 m2. In Villemoisson, this one, of 140m2 on a plot of 400m2, sold for 470,000€.

In the Yvelines, around Versailles, Le Chesnay is ideal for comfortable and quick accommodation, thanks to Parly 2, with its 7,500 apartments spread over 278 small buildings with caretakers, lots of greenery, swimming pools and tennis courts, where the square meter costs between 5,000 and 5,500€. In the direction of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Mareil-Marly deserves a stop. “Quiet in the evening, green and hilly, it is full of individual houses on the hillside with lovely views,” explains Guillaume Collet, manager of the Arcana agencies. For 200 m2 in fair condition, with an 800 m2 garden planted with fruit trees, it sold for 875,000€ to an investor, who rents it out for 3,200€ per month.

Finally, in the Val-d’Oise, in the agglomeration of Cergy-Pontoise, Vauréal and Jouy-le-Moutier deserve a spotlight. “For a long time carry-over markets, they are increasingly sought after”, specifies Stéphane Chaillé, director of the Agence du Vexin Orpi. Their town centers have developed over the past ten years, with the restaurants and food trades that are generally lacking in new towns. A 3-room apartment of 60m2 costs around 230,000€ there, and a detached and well-located housing estate of the years 2000 to 2010, between 400,000 and 500,000€ for 120 to 130 m2 on a plot of 400 to 500 m2.

Source:  L’OBS