An atypical territory which lends itself to real estate investment in all its forms. This is how we could describe the city of Brest with its harbor, this 15-kilometer-long bay which is inseparable from the city’s landscape, just like its four-hundred-year-old naval base. Military activity fuels the economic fabric: 12,000 people work on the naval base, including 4,000 civilians.
Large companies like Thales or Naval Group are established in the city. And the unemployment rate in the port city is 6% in the second quarter of 2023 when, at the same time, nationally, it reaches 7.2%. “The presence of the army, but also of students, fuels the rental market”, observes Michel Stephan, director of the Nestenn agency in Brest. And with the rise in mortgage rates, the trend is unlikely to reverse.
The market therefore benefits investors who can buy and who focus on studios and T2s: “This is a trend that is not new here. The entry ticket to invest is low and the rents are high. You can find studios for 100,000 euros, without defects, which you will rent for around 550 euros per month, and obtain a gross profitability of 7%.observes Richard Cordier, director of an agency L’Adresse in the city.
The most seasoned buyers, ready to bet on energy sieves to renovate, are taking advantage of the decline in demand for these goods to make good deals. “The discounts on the price of these apartments range from 15% to 20%”, specifies Michel Stephan. Other investors, rarer on the market, will turn to the Denormandie system. The latter allows you to benefit from a tax reduction of 12%, 18% or 21% of the price of a property to be renovated provided that it is rented for at least six, nine or twelve years, if the work represents at least less than a quarter of the total cost of the operation.
The sought-after new sector
The buyer undertakes to carry out certain works, he can either improve the energy performance of the property by at least 20% or 30%, or create a new living space, or carry out at least two energy renovation works from a fixed list . But, according to real estate agents, the complex setup of this type of operation does not make Denormandie very attractive: “I must have seen two cases go through since this system came into force. It only concerns quasi-professional investors”indicates Richard Cordier.
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