A man in a white tennis outfit, shorts and T-shirt in the middle of winter, leaves the building with a racket in hand and, in two strides, reaches the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris. We are rue Guynemer, in the 6e arrondissement, the most expensive in the capital, according to Elodie Frémont, spokesperson for Notaires du Grand Paris. Indeed, on the first floor of the freestone building, an apartment with parquet floors, moldings and fireplaces, although faded, has been put up for sale at 40,000 euros per square meter. Its view, over the favorite Parisian garden of wealthy Americans, makes it all worthwhile.
The owner, whose fortune was made “in supermarkets and hotels”lives in the south of France and separates from his Parisian pied-à-terre. “The name of rue Guynemer makes you dream. Americans who want to buy in Paris know her”says Carole de Vellou, the director of the high-end real estate agency Daniel Féau-Luxembourg, in charge of the sale. “There are very few apartments in this street. You can wait several years to find one. It’s like a Caravaggio hitting the market.”adds Nicolas Pettex-Muffat, former CEO of the Daniel Féau group.
But international clients like to buy “turnkey” apartments and the works can discourage them. First offered “off market” (without real estate advertisement) for six months at 13 million euros, the apartment has just seen its price drop to 11.4 million. “Six months isn’t much for a budget like that. A sale can take a year and a half. You have to be patient “tempers Carole de Vellou.
While the French classic real estate market “turned around” in 2022, the luxury goods niche has never been as buoyant as in 2022. Féau, a major player in this very high-end niche , exclusive affiliate of the international auction company Christie’s for Paris, confirms having achieved its two best years in 2021 and 2022, in terms of both number and amount of transactions.
His graphs show that “the price of superluxury in Paris” has increased sevenfold since 2000 and has climbed 40% in the past two years. “This market does not experience at all the sluggishness observed on Parisian transactions below 1 million euros, which can be affected by the economic, financial or geopolitical context”says the agency again.
“A real market segment”
The same is true for its competitor Barnes, whose City Index 2023 ranking places Paris at the top of the cities most sought after by the very wealthy, followed by Miami and New York. “2021 was a year of catching up for French buyers who, after the pandemic [de Covid-19], wanted more space, more green. And 2022 is about catching up with foreigners returning to the French market with the end of health measures”, summarizes Richard Tzipine, general manager of this network. Never had the prices displayed in its sign gone up so high, an apartment sold at 46,000 euros per square meter, on the Ile de la Cité, having reached a record.
You have 72.02% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.