Falling prices in Lille’s periphery lead to property bargains, while central real estate thrives

Lille’s city center continues to fare well thanks to Parisians and rental investors, while falling property prices everywhere else allow buyers to dictate the rules.

The Lillois real estate market has generally suffered from the housing slump, with the number of transactions stagnating in the metropolis. The capital of the Nord-Pas de Calais region has seen its real estate prices falling slightly but steadily since 2012. On the outskirts, buyers are spoiled for choice.

As in many other French cities, prices gaps are widening between geographic areas considered to be “safe bets” and other more peripheral district. Sales manager at Immo de France, Micaël Neusy explains that “Lille is a collection of micro-markets, some of which have remained dynamic while others stagnate.

In the city center and especially in the Old Lille, demand remains strong and prestigious apartments in eighteenth and nineteenth century buildings continue to sell at high prices. Parisians are also increasingly seen prospecting in the northern French city, particularly in the area surrounding the Lille-Europe station, linking the city to Paris in only an hour. Lille is also at the heart of the Paris-London-Brussels triangle, with the Eurostar to the British capital taking an hour and twenty minutes and Brussels a mere forty minute train ride away.

Rental investors are still active in the city center. They mainly purchase small surfaces near the city’s many university campuses. In Lille, half of all rental property is occupied by the metropolis’ 30,000 students. House-sharing is also increasingly popular, affording landlords rental incomes that are 14% higher on average than for traditional rental properties.

Where the new build sector is concerned, Lille recently ranked as the cheapest metropolis in France. The average price for a new three-bedroom home is 203,000 euros, or 20,000 euros cheaper than in September 2014. However, small surfaces — whether new builds or not — continue to price highly, with a new two-bed costing 157,000 euros on average.

Capital.fr features a detailed real estate map of Lille, showing price variations from area to area.

Photo credit: Wikipedia / Velvet