Real estate purchasing power: the craze for medium-sized cities leads to a spectacular rise in prices

An inflationary trend which is not without consequences for residents whose real estate purchasing power continues to decline. Pretto, an online mortgage specialist, has taken an interest in this phenomenon and reveals in its latest study the loss in m2 for the inhabitants of 10 popular medium-sized towns.

From 6 to 20 m2 less surface area for current residents!

Between March 2020 and May 2022, based on 130 simulations, Pretto calculated the loss of real estate purchasing power for the inhabitants of Chartres, Le Mans, Limoges, Lorient, La Rochelle, Metz, Nîmes, Sète, Tours and Valence. Ten medium-sized cities which are popular and which have experienced a surge in real estate prices since the urban breakaway of the large metropolises. For residents of medium-sized cities, the massive arrival of these new inhabitants with higher purchasing power directly impacts their real estate project. Result: between 000 and 6 m20 less surface area for the same budget as 2 years ago...

The arrival of the inhabitants of large metropolises leads to an increase in real estate prices. The increase is particularly marked in La Rochelle (+53%) and Lorient (+46%) (source: Figaro Immobilier). But it is “painless” for a Parisian who buys in an average city because of a real estate purchasing power which is almost twice that of a resident of this same city. Same observation, for newcomers from other major cities, with a purchasing power of 2 higher than that of a current resident according to Pretto data on different incomes.

“Even if the movement of inhabitants of large metropolises illustrates a renewed attractiveness of medium-sized cities, residents are the first to suffer from the situation. Faced with the rise in real estate prices in their cities, those who want to become homeowners are at a disadvantage compared to newcomers whose purchasing power is greater than theirs. They can already give up the most prized possessions of their city,” explains Pierre Chapon.