2024-01-08 19:14:06
The much-feared decline in the old real estate market did not occur in 2023, or at least not with the same force everywhere. See not at all. This is the observation of Charles Marinakis, president of the Century 21 France network, taking stock of the past year on Monday January 8. “Around 875,000 transactions should have been recorded, compared to the 1.2 million in 2021 and the million in 2019. But it’s not the end of the world. 10 years ago, we had 680,000 sales in the old one”, he assures. France returned last year to the volumes reached in 2017, recalls the National Real Estate Federation (Fnaim).
Sales times are getting longer
Everything is nevertheless a little more complicated and the boss of Century 21 does not hesitate to talk about a “seized market”. Sales times have increased to reach an average of 92 days for houses (+8 days compared to 2022) and 91 days (+14) for apartments. In Paris, the average time to sell a property has even increased from 16 days to 96 days. For the record, it took around 45 days in 2010 and 2011.
In Île-de-France, on average, 91 days were needed last year to sell your house (+17 days) and 90 days (+25 days) to find a buyer in the case of an apartment. “Until now, a sales period exceeding 90 days was the exception. This has become the general trend”underlines the boss of Century 21.
Prices are not falling everywhere
On the price side, the decline is spreading, but it is still far from uniform. In Paris, the €10,000/m2 mark fell last year, with an average price of €9,774 (–5.5%) over the whole of 2023, the level recorded in mid-2018. The market is clearly trending downward: in December, the average price was €9,345/m2. In the capital, rental investment is stalling, representing only 28% of purchases in 2023, compared to 33% in 2021. “ Landlords continue to withdraw their properties from the rental market and put them on platforms, which provide more secure income », notes the president of Century 21.
On the other hand, the average price of houses continued to rise in Brittany (+ 3.3% to €2,814/m2), but also in Bourgogne-France-Comté, Normandy, Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Paca and it is remained stable in Pays de la Loire. “ But these are only regional averages, which can mask a lot of disparities, even if overall, prices have fallen much less than we imagined, me first and foremost. », recognizes Charles Marinakis. In Charente-Maritime, prices increased by 8.4% while they fell by 12.7% in the neighboring department of Gironde.
Prices per m2 of apartments increased by 10.2% in Marseille, by 7.4% in Rennes, by 5.4% in Strasbourg, by 4.2% in Perpignan. House prices, for their part, rose by 14.4% in Reims, by 9.4% in Montpellier, and by 4.8% in Lyon, notes Century 21. “The decline in prices at the national level is an illusion, because if we exclude the Paris region, prices only fall by 1% in the rest of France”he assures.
Price increases affected 48% of provincial towns, for an increase of 5% on average, confirms the barometer of the Se Loger site, published Monday January 8.
The Ile-de-France market is suffering
In Île-de-France, the old real estate market is, in fact, one of those which has suffered the most. It combines all the difficulties of the moment: prices that are still high and young people (between 30 and 40 years old) who want to buy their main residence but who cannot obtain credit. Prices per m² fell by 5% for houses and 7.8% for apartments. “ And yet, activity is not picking up. On the contrary, sales times are getting longer (standing at 90 days), and the number of sales is down by 19% for houses and 22% for apartments. », recalls the Century 21 study.
In Hauts-de-Seine, the most expensive department in the region (excluding Paris), transactions fell by 40% last year for houses and 32% for apartments. “ The decline in prices of old apartments thus affected 95% of towns in the Ile-de-France region with more than 40,000 inhabitants, compared to 60% in January 2023. », confirms the Se Loger barometer.
Sellers remain demanding
Has a low point been reached? It’s not sure. Even if a small decline could begin in 2024 for interest rates, notably under the effect of greater competition between banks, the rise was brutal and excluded many households from the real estate market. The rate for a 20-year loan was around 1.06% at the start of 2021, 1.7% at the start of 2022 and 4.35% today.
« Today, it is the sellers who make the market by agreeing or not to lower their prices », notes the boss of Century 21. But according to him, the sector will not be able to restart if they do not revise their financial claims, after the excesses of recent years. Between 2015 and 2022, property prices increased by 47% on average in Brittany and by 30% in Île-de-France and the southern region (Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur).
#sale #prices #fallen