The real estate purchasing power of the French will fall in 2022 according to notaries

On average, by going into debt over 20 years with a monthly payment of up to a third of their disposable income, French people in mainland France can acquire a home of 80 square meters. This is 4 less than in 2021, an unprecedented fall for 15 years.

This figure had stagnated since 2018 around 85 square meters, after a decade of strong growth - it was 58 square meters in 2008, its lowest point.

The fall in 2022 is due to the "cumulation of a price increase, which is still quite strong, less strong than inflation but almost, and the increase in interest rates", advanced in a press conference. Thierry Delesalle, notary in charge of real estate statistics for Paris and Ile-de-France.

The erosion of real estate purchasing power is very marked for houses, the prices of which have soared since the end of the confinements. With a monthly payment of 1.300 euros over 20 years, it is possible to acquire an old house of 113 square meters, 10 less than in 2021.

For old apartments, the area that can be financed by paying a monthly payment of 800 euros over 20 years is 43 square meters, one less than in 2021, estimate the notaries based on sales concluded during the first nine months. of the year.

The effect of the Climate and Resilience law, which will gradually ban rental of the most energy-intensive accommodation, is beginning to be felt, noted the notaries.

Housing labeled F or G, the two worst classes in the energy performance diagnosis (DPE), thus represented 17% of sales concluded in the third quarter of 2022, against 11% a year earlier.

Housing classified G will be prohibited for rental in 2025, and even from January 2023 for the most energy-intensive (consuming more than 450 kilowatt hours per square meter per year). The F will be in 2028 and the E in 2034.

"Despite everything, be careful, we are comparing things that are not quite comparable", the method of calculating the DPE having been completely reviewed in July 2021, warned Frédéric Violeau, notary in charge of national real estate statistics.