Old property prices are still falling but a recovery is taking shape

Prices of existing real estate continued to fall in the first quarter, according to several agency networks which, however, feel the beginnings of a recovery caused by slightly less expensive credits.

According to Orpi, in the first quarter, prices per square meter across the country fell by 3% year-on-year. For Laforêt, this decline is 4,7%; and according to Century 21, it is 3,2% for apartments and 3,3% for houses.

An erosion of prices which has not yet stopped the decline in sales, the number of transactions having also fallen compared to the start of 2023, by 11,2% at Century 21 and by 19% at Orpi.

The fault is credit rates, still close to 4% after having soared from 2021, despite a slight drop in recent weeks.

But a tremor seems to have recently occurred in the real estate market, pointed out Tuesday the president of Orpi, Guillaume Martinaud.

“January and February were extremely difficult. March is much more cheerful, we are starting to have the data coming back, morale is returning,” he declared at a press conference.

Laforêt also notes that compared to the last quarter of 2023, the number of transactions increased by 0,5%, notably driven by Île-de-France and especially Paris where prices have been eroding for a longer period.

Century 21, for its part, noted that the steps taken to acquire a property (consultation of advertisements, requests for information from agencies, etc.) had all become more frequent.

“Prices have aligned, they have fallen, we find a form of alignment of planets which makes us enthusiastic for the months to come”, declared to AFP the president of Century 21 France, Charles Marinakis.

“It’s not going to happen at the end of April,” he said, but rather “in the second part of the year.”

Century 21, however, observes significant disparities depending on the territory. Prices thus fell by 12,1% in Pays de la Loire while they increased by 4,4% in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, with a range of intermediate situations.

Large coastal towns, always very popular, are well represented among those where the market continues to climb.

As for the rental market, it is still tense, with many households remaining tenants because they cannot access property, notes Orpi.

“This rental market is suffering everywhere. Not just in the big cities,” worried Corinne Berec, vice-president of Orpi.