New home sales resume in the third quarter, but at a slow pace

Between July and September, 17.456 new homes were reserved by individuals, 4,6% more than in the previous quarter. Over the year, reservations increased by 5,8%.

This rebound phenomenon, also observed by the Federation of Real Estate Developers, is mainly explained, according to its president Pascal Boulanger, by the desire to be able to benefit from the Pinel tax niche for rental investors, before its disappearance on December 31.

The increase in reservations concerns apartments in collective housing (16.644, +4,7% compared to the previous quarter) as well as individual houses (812, +3,7%).

Developers marketed 13.947 new or renovated homes between July and September, 5,7% less than in the second quarter and 30,4% less than in the third quarter of 2023, which was already experiencing a slowdown in activity.

The level of new housing sales is at its lowest since at least the end of 2018.

The number of homes to be sold is gradually reducing, given this deficit in sales: 121.008 homes were offered for sale at the end of the third quarter, i.e. 3,4% less than at the end of June and 9,7% less than at the end of September 2023.

Institutions (social landlords, businesses, major investors) reserved 14.310 housing units, a figure down 3,5% compared to the previous quarter.

Ministry statistics show a higher demand for small spaces than for large apartments.

Reservations for accommodation with more than four rooms are the only ones to have slightly declined, among the different types of apartments, and developers are selling fewer of these large accommodations.

Geographically, there is an increase in bookings in the densest areas (A and B1), which are located in Paris, in a large part of the Île-de-France, on the Côte d'Azur as well as in the border area with Switzerland and large urban areas with more than 250.000 inhabitants.

Reservations are down by around 20% in the rest of the country.

Illustrative image of the article via Depositphotos.com.