rich foreigners back on the Parisian market

Wealthy foreigners had turned away from the Parisian real estate market since the start of the health crisis. Here they are now ” back “as announced by Thierry Delesalle, the president of the commission of statistics of notaries of Greater Paris, Tuesday, September 6, on the occasion of a conference devoted to the real estate market in the Ile-de-France.

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Contrary to the evolution of the prices of old apartments in the capital, where twelve arrondissements recorded a drop in the second quarter of 2022 (between 0.4% in the 9^e et 11^e arrondissements and 4.8% in the 19^e), prices rose over the same period in uptown areas, by more than 5% in the 6^e et 7^e arrondissements (where the bar of 14,000 euros per square meter has been crossed), and by more than 4% in the 8^e, according to the notaries of Greater Paris. However, in these neighborhoods popular with “non-residents”the proportion of acquisitions made in the first half by foreign buyers was ” huge “emphasizes Thierry Delesalle.

“Great return of North Americans”

According to his figures, in the 7^e arrondissement, one in five apartments purchased during the first six months of the year was purchased by a foreign buyer (compared to 13.9% in 2020). “Unheard of since 2013”, indicates the notary. The trend is identical in the 6^e et 8^e arrondissements, with respectively 18.4% and 16.3% of apartment acquisitions made by a foreign buyer in the first half (compared to less than 9.7% and 11.9% in 2020).

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“With the confinements and health restrictions, non-tax residents could no longer come and visit the apartments so easily. But, since the spring, we have seen the great return of North Americans but also of the Swiss”, testifies Nicolas Pettex, managing director of the network of Féau agencies, leader of the top-of-the-range Parisian market. Their purchasing power has increased with the weakness of the euro, and parity with the dollar. “For them, it’s a party. The French are therefore once again in competition with an American who draws on a crush “continues Mr. Pettex.

On this Parisian luxury real estate market, which is relatively frozen due to a lack of rotation of top-of-the-range apartments, “when transactions exceed 4 million euros, half the time, a foreigner is in the loop, on the seller’s or buyer’s side”says Nicolas Pettex.