Paris Apartments: What floor is best?

A study looked at the difference in price between the different floors of a typical Paris apartment block, both with and without a lift. The results are surprising. 

What is the ideal floor in a building without a lift? A study by Meilleursagents looked at 50,000 transactions and interviewed 10,000 people and 5,000 agencies in an effort to determine once and for all the effect of floor on apartment property value.

As most old Haussmannian buildings in Paris lack lifts, the relationship between floor and price is an important one to be familiar with. If the building has no lift the most sought-after floor is the 2nd, while only 0.4% seek to live on the 4th and 5th floors. This is according to the survey, however the market contradicts this.

Looking at the 50,000 transactions, Meilleursagents have shown that people are actually willing to walk up more stairs than they admit. As shown in the graphic below, in buildings without a lift (Immeuble sans ascenseur) the most valuable apartments are actually found on the 3rd and 4th floors! The exception is a chambre de bonne on the 6th, which has a higher price/m2 because of its small size.

As expected, for those lucky to have lifts, the price increases all the way to the top. If a 2nd-floor apartment costs €8,589/m2, the 6th-floor properties – be it an apartment or chambre de bonne – will breach €9,000/m2. The ground floor apartments remain the cheapest in both, with the effect stronger if the building has a lift.

These figures are significant for those on upper floors considering installing a lift in their building. A 5th or 6th-floor apartment could easily gain 5% in value if a lift is installed, though upper-floor residents will generally pay a greater amount towards the installation costs – sometimes covering it entirely.