Real estate: borrowers have gained up to 9m² of purchasing capacity over the last 6 months

In 2023, borrowing capacity in free fall

Last October, Pretto published the results of its study allowing us to better understand the impact of rising rates on the borrowing capacity of the French. The surge in rates resulted in a significant loss of purchasing capacity, in all cities in France.

In 2024, a budget that starts to rise again

Six months later, in a context of falling rates and a reopening of banks which are lending again much more easily, positive signals are materializing concretely on the ground. Pretto wanted to materialize the impact of this change in context by taking its figures from last fall and updating them.

With the exception of Le Havre where real estate prices have continued to rise in recent months and where borrowing capacity is actually decreasing, in all the other cities listed, the purchasing power of buyers is increasing.

Thus, in Strasbourg, Marseille, Toulouse or even Reims, borrowers can acquire 5 more square meters with the same salary. Among the municipalities where purchasing power is increasing the most, Nantes (+6 m²), Dijon (+7 m²) and Nîmes (+9 m²). Saint-Étienne maintains first place in our ranking in terms of purchasing power: with a monthly net salary of 3.000 euros, it is possible to buy 147 m². This is 9 more than 6 months ago.

Excellent news for those who wish to buy a property there. And with the drop in rates expected to continue until the end of the year, we can predict that the French budget will continue to rise.

Of course, to properly measure this improvement, we need to take a step back. And it will still take time before the capacity of the French returns to the level before 2022. Even getting closer to 3,5% over 25 years, loans remain more expensive than before.

Additional levers to improve purchasing capacity

Pretto also recommends that borrowers rely on other existing levers to improve their purchasing capacity by, for example, using subsidized loans, in particular the zero-interest loan, which reduces the cost of credit. But also the negotiation of the purchase price, which is particularly important at the moment. In a real estate market that is struggling to restart and where transactions are slow, there are good deals to be found, especially when we know that one in two sellers or almost (40%) say they are ready to negotiate their price on the spot. decrease to sell faster.

Illustrative image of the article via Depositphotos.com.