As a logical consequence of a sharp slowdown in the French real estate market marked by a rebalancing between supply and demand, itself guided by the sharp rise in borrowing rates over the past year and a half, transaction times have considerably lengthened. these last months. It often takes at least 3 months before selling a home, depending of course on the negotiations agreed on the final sale price.
The Century 21 agency network thus observes an average selling time of 85 days in France, up 8 days over the past year for houses and +4 days for apartments. ” Only sellers constrained by a fact of life (divorce, transfer, inheritance, etc.) agree to revise their price downwards to adjust to the new economic constraints of buyers. Sellers who are not obliged to sell in the short term choose either to withdraw their property from the market or to leave it at the price initially discounted, which contributes to extending the time it takes to sell. notes Century 21.
The biggest increase for houses in Ile-de-France
It is for houses in Ile-de-France that Century 21 measures the greatest increase in this period, from 59 days in the first half of 2022 to 80 days today. The same phenomenon is observed by the Laforêt agencies, claiming ” the maintenance of high prices in the first ring and the weaker demand for houses in the second ring “. The delays even go up to almost 100 days for houses in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region and in Occitanie, according to Century 21.
The obligation, since April 2023, to have the seller carry out an energy audit for energy-intensive houses whose DPE bears the letters F and G, is another element that does not promote the speed of transactions by offering acquirers a more solid basis for negotiations than before.
Trading margins
In the Laforêt network, we measure an average selling time of 88 days at the national level, up 8 days for 12 months. ” This increase reflects a change in the behavior of buyers, who are more cautious, who take more time to compare, do their accounts and ensure that their financing file is solid before committing. “, explains Laforêt.
As for price negotiation margins, Laforêt assesses them on average at 5.28%, up by almost 1 point over the past year. ” In addition to the adjustments made during the sale, owners often have to make an extra effort to finalize the transaction. “, attests the network of agencies.