The health crisis did not trigger an exodus from the cities, according to the notaries

"It is not the (...) urban exodus", judged the notary Frédéric Violeau, during a presentation of an annual report of the real estate market from the figures of the profession, which refer.

"On the scale of French territory, we cannot say that there have been major upheavals", insisted Mr. Violeau.

The year was however marked by an exceptional event with the Covid-19 health crisis. This led the French authorities to impose two lockdowns, one of which is still in progress.

These episodes have led some real estate market observers to wonder about a disaffection with large cities, for example in the face of the possibilities opened up by the rise of teleworking.

But, at the end of 2020, "prices have increased absolutely in all major cities in France," noted Mr. Violeau. "No year-over-year decline has been observed."

This increase is particularly marked in cities in western France, such as Rennes or Nantes. The median price of apartments there jumped by more than 10% to respectively 3.170 euros and 3.580 euros per square meter.

An increase is particularly notable, that of Le Havre, one of the cities where accommodation is the cheapest with Saint-Étienne. In the Normandy city, the price of apartments rose by almost 10% to 1.870 euros per square meter.

Even if these figures testify to a persistent attraction of agglomerations, the notaries do not deny that the crisis seems to have moderate effects on the desires of the buyers.

"There are many movements of cursors," admits Mr. Violeau. Thus, house prices, which until then rose less quickly than those of apartments, are accelerating.

"We had a little breeze of greenery, let's say it clearly," observed the Parisian lawyer Élodie Frémont, commenting on figures from the Paris region already announced at the end of November.

"We had (...) Parisians living in the center of Paris in an apartment of 60 square meters to four who preferred the great crown", she reported.