Grand Paris: How new metro stations will affect property prices in Paris

Paris’ new enhanced transport system — extending the metro to the capital’s outer suburbs — will lead to positive growth and profitable real estate on the city’s outer rim. As part of the reorganization of the French capital into the Métropole du Grand Paris, the city’s transport system is due to undergo a 35 billion euro upgrade over the next 10 to 15 years.

The extended and modernized Paris metro project, named the Grand Paris Express, will result in 68 new metro stations, with new neighborhoods expected to grow around each one. Some experts expect the “connection effect” to play a significant role in increasing property value in the areas around the new stations, listed here by the Société du Grand Paris. Benoît Labat, director of “value and heritage” at the Société du Grand Paris cites how “international studies show that when an efficient transportation system is put in place, land prices increase in the area served.” As such, the “super-metro”, as it has been dubbed, will most probably “produce a rise in prices” around new stations. Catherine Carely, head of the Paris notaires union, believes that “Greater Paris presents interesting investment opportunities at affordable levels”, but these depend heavily on the wider future economic context. Mr. Labat believes that, were a global crisis to occur, “well connected areas” in the “perimeter of Greater Paris” would suffer less than the rest of the region. In line with this idea of a “connection effect”, MeilleursAgents CEO Sébastien de Lafond estimates a 10-15% rise in prices in a suburban area newly served by a metro station. While this should be the result for most of the Grand Paris Express’s new stations, “there must also be links to a commercial or business hub for there to be significant capital gain on property investments…. It is essential to take into account projects and developments around the new stations rather than simply the stations themselves”. A report by the Journal du Dimanche details where to invest near the Grand Paris Express’s future stations, line by line.

Where to invest immediately:

Line 14, north: Saint-Ouen. The recent refurbishment of the Saint-Ouen docks have earned the area the title of “eco-district.” It’s almost too late for bargains in this area; for de Lafond, that “process is already well underway”. According to a 2014 property price report by the Paris notaires, the average price there is 3,980 euros per square meter, increasing 1.27%, and +32,5% over the last one and five years respectively.  

Line 15, south: Issy RER. Prices are already high, at 6,500 euros per m2. The best bet is to buy property to live in here, rather than to rent it out. According to the notaires, “rental investment is not very profitable in already upscale areas such as the Hauts-de-Seine, however capital gains upon resale can be counted on”. Where to invest in three to four years:

Line 15, west: Les Grésillons, Gennevilliers. Prices here could almost double, rising to 7,000 euros per m2 with the arrival of line 15, scheduled for 2027.

Line 15, south: Champigny-sur-Marne, Bry-sur-Marne, Villiers-sur-Marne. Prices are still low in these areas, with average cost per square meter at a little over 3,000 euros. Cité Descartes in Champs-sur-Marne is already one of Greater Paris’ business hubs. Upon completion of the southern portion of line 15, Labat anticipates demand here to rise significantly.

Line 15, south: Créteil-l’Echat. A new housing program will be launched here, with the first apartments delivered by 2019. The super-metro, slated for completion in 2020, will connect to Montrouge in 17 minutes — compared with over one hour today.

Line 15, south: Villejuif-Aragon. 2,900 residences are in construction there now, and the area already benefits from the world-renowned oncology center, the Gustave-Roussy Institute. Fortunately, the project formerly known as “Cancer Campus” has been renamed Campus-Grand Parc.

Line 16: Clichy-Montfermeil. Along with the arrival of line 16 in 2023, the T4 tram will also serve the area earlier, starting in 2018. Despite its relatively austere economic state, the region has several development projects ahead. One of these are apartments to be built in Clichy-sous-Bois in 2017 by Nexity at the sale price of approximately 2,800 euros per m2. Where to invest in five years or more:

Line 18: Orsay-Gif The super-metro will not reach here until 2024, but the area has high potential, especially considering it contains a cluster of prestigious research-led universities. In all cases, de Lafond advises to “invest close to a station, a ten minute walk away at most”. In an effort to further modernize the transport network and make it “the most digital underground system in the world”, the Société du Grand Paris has made available online various data about the project and its future stations. These include detailed descriptions of facilities in the stations as well as estimated transfer times and frequency of trains.  

Photo credit: Pixabay / cocoparisienne