A cathedral adjoining the banks of the Seine, half-timbered houses, one of the last gallery cemeteries in France – Saint-Maclou: Rouen (Seine-Maritime) seduces with its cachet. It also attracts individuals, particularly Ile-de-France residents, looking for spacious accommodation, especially as it is located only around an hour and a half by train from Paris. No wonder, therefore, that the Norman capital has filled up with real estate buyers since the end of the first confinement.
“The market has been the most dynamic over the last twelve months, with an increase in sales of 11%”, notes Thibaut Cambier, notary in the city. Price side, it is the frenzy. “They increased from 7% to 10% over one year, depending on the neighborhood “, says Raphaël Plut, director of the Century Harmony agency in Rouen.
“This increase has mainly affected small apartments (20 to 50 m²) and houses – buyers particularly appreciating outdoor spaces because of the confinement. Houses for less than 300,000 euros and studios between 70,000 and 80,000 euros are leaving without notice ”, he explains.
Rental permit
If the average price for an apartment in Rouen is 2,448 euros / m², according to data from MeillAgents, “It reaches 3,000 euros to 3,300 euros in the streets of Carmes and Gros-Horloge, in the historic center of the city”, notes Mr. Plut, specifying that“There are few negotiations in these two sectors”.
However, since the start of September, the market has slowed down. The influx of Parisians observed since 2020 by real estate agents seems to be drying up. “Selling times are progressing, because sellers want to sell their property at very high prices and cannot find takers”, says Jean-Maxime Glas, advisor at Ruppé-Rolland Immobilier.
Townhouses remain popular, however, especially those located on the left bank, near the Jardin des Plantes, where you can afford 300,000. euros a townhouse of 150 m² in good condition. But there is no longer any question today for buyers to go further without negotiating the price downwards.
The market, with its affordable selling prices and its many students (nearly 46,000 in the city), is also suitable for rental investment. “We can obtain returns of the order of 5% to 6% gross”, calculates Mr. Glas.
It should be noted, however, that since 1er October, six city districts are subject to the rental permit. From now on, an authorization from the town hall is required to rent out a property in the Hôtel-de-Ville-Cathédrale sector, in the rue Cauchoise district, in certain streets on the left bank, rue Beauvoisine and its surroundings, and in the Saint-Nicaise or Saint-Hilaire districts. The municipality has thirty days to respond to requests.
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