Real Estate in Paris: Prices Continue to Rise
Volume XV, Issue 8
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I’m currently traveling in Southern California, having toured Joshua Tree all day yesterday and then on to Palm Desert. It is here where we are visiting old friends who have a gorgeous 3,500 square-foot three-bedroom home with another “casita” on the grounds (like a studio apartment for guests, where we stayed) with a swimming pool (of course) and every amenity you can think of, located on a golf course in a gated community — an absolutely idyllic setting.
Reality check: You could have a three-bedroom apartment in central Paris about one-third the size (say 100 to 120 square meters) for the same amount of money.
It certainly gave me food for thought: would I trade all that comfort and luxury for my little 750 square-foot apartment in Paris? Probably not, but it does remind me of the inequalities in life and how we have to make choices for the kind of lifestyle we want for ourselves.
One of the things I learned living in France is how having money and luxury is not what makes happiness. I thought about how much work there is in keeping up such a large expansive home, even if one has housekeepers and gardeners to manage it with you managing them. My friends were keeping it spick and span all by themselves at the moment, so working hard to have it as pristeen as they like it. Part of having true happiness is simplifying — so when you downsize, you have to divest of all those belongings we accumulate that we don’t really need or never really use. It’s so easy to become possessed by our own possessions.
Sure, a short visit was idyllic, too — and it would be easy to be a bit jealous of what seems on the surface to be so perfect, but then I started to miss Paris and all that energy, miss the ability to hop a train and be in another city or another country in a matter of of few hours (like hopping the Eurostar to London or the Thalys to Amsterdam) and realized that really, I’m just an urbanite destined to spend my days in Europe.
Reality check: Are you willing to trade it in?
The time is now. Interest rates are low, the rate of exchange is low and prices are on the rise. If you’re thinking of it at all, now’s the time!
The following text is an edited translation from the report issued today by the Chambre de Notaire de Paris.
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According to the Notaires of Paris-Ile-de-France, the recently good performance of the Paris real estate market continues to be confirmed throughout 2016. In Paris, low supply and high prices seemed to weigh on the sales that did not change between 2015 and 2016 (about 34,000 sales for each of the two years) and which remain well below the average of 38,300 sales recorded between 1999 and 2007.
The regained fluidity of the market and of steadily growing sales went hand in hand with a reversal of the trend in prices, especially in Paris, when prices were already high. The increase gradually spread in 2016 from the capital to the periphery of the region. An increase in Parisian prices of 5.6% over one year is still expected in the spring of 2017.
– 8,340€ per m² in Paris
In Paris, the price per square meter of an apartment reached 8,340€ (an increase of 4.4% in one year).
– Rising prices across the capital
The rise in prices is widespread in Paris. Ten districts experienced price changes of more than 5% per year. The district with the highest increase was the 3rd (+ 8.6%). Only the 1st arrondissement saw its prices fall by 5.2% in one year.
– Four districts only at less than 8,000€ per m²
Paris now has only four districts under 8,000€ per m², compared with six in the first half of 2016.
The ratio between the most affordable and the most expensive district is historically low. The 6th arrondissement is 1.76 times more expensive than the 19th, compared with 2.5 times in the second quarter of 2001.
– 6 districts exceeding 10,000€ per m²
While the average price per square meter in the capital city is 8,340€ per m², six districts of the capital have prices per m² that exceed 10,000€ (1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th).
The 6th and 7th arrondissement are the most expensive in the Capital with prices per m² of 12,200€ and 11,530€ respectively.
– Only one district under 7,000 euros per m²
The 19th remains the only district still below the 7,000€ per m² (to 6,920€ per m²).
The price difference between the most expensive and the cheapest district is 5,280€ per m².
– The most expensive neighborhood: Odéon at 14.820€ per m²
The three most expensive districts of the Capital are all located in the 6th arrondissement: Odéon at 14,820€ per m², Saint-Germain-des-Prés at 14,190€ per m² and Monnaie at 12,600€ per m².
– The cheapest district of Paris: Pont-de-Flandre at 6,270€ per m²
The cheapest districts of Paris are Pont-de-Flandre (19th) at 6,270€ per m², followed by La Chapelle (18th) at 6,390€ per m², and Amérique at 6,480€ per m².
– Prices of the most expensive neighborhoods increase more
With the exception of the Invalides (7th), the most expensive districts of Paris recorded a higher annual price increase than in the most affordable neighborhoods
– Towards a price per m² record in Paris in the spring of 2017
According to the leading indicators of the Paris notaries, the annual increase in prices in Paris would continue in spring 2017. A price per square meter of around 8,500€ is expected in April 2017, representing an annual increase of 5.6%.
– High prices and lack of offers limit the recovery of the Parisian activity
In 2016, Paris has recorded a number of apartment sales comparable to 2015 but down 11% compared to 1999-2007. Nonetheless, the year ended with a stronger quarter (+ 3% compared to an average 4th quarter of the reference period).
You can read the full report PDF (in French).
If you are tempted, but aren’t quite ready to make a final decision, then by all means contact us for more information on how you can get started trading one for another, or having them both!
A bientôt,
Adrian Leeds
The Adrian Leeds Group
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P.S. I’ll be writing monthly for Expatriates Magazine. Read the latest article here.
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