A study published by Meilleurs Agents shows that between 2017 and 2022, the French have lost an average of 6m2 of accessible surface in the largest French cities. It is in Rennes that buyers have lost the most in five years.
Do you want to buy in Rennes, Nantes or Marseille to join friends who have been living in one of these cities for five years? Sorry, but you may well have one less room.
According to a study published by Meilleurs Agents, the real estate purchasing power of the French has been reduced over the last five years in the 11 largest cities in France (Lille, Paris, Strasbourg, Rennes, Nantes, Bordeaux, Lyon, Toulouse, Montpellier, Nice and Marseilles). “Between March 2017 and March 2022, French people living in these cities lost 6m2 of real estate purchasing power”, explains the study.
-14m2 in Rennes
In 2017, with a median household income equivalent to 2,525 euros today, it was possible to buy 40m2 or more in most of the cities mentioned. This was the case, for example, in Marseille (40m2), Toulouse (44m2), Strasbourg (40m2), Nantes (46m2) and even Rennes (47m2).
Today, it is impossible to hope for more than 37m2 with the same financial guarantees. It is in Rennes that the loss is the greatest: with a price per square meter falling from 2,534 euros in 2017 to 4,111 euros in 2022, potential buyers have lost 14 square meters of real estate purchasing power. Nantes (-9m2), Strasbourg (-9m2), Toulouse (-8m2), Lyon (-8m2) are also strongly affected by the phenomenon.
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How then to explain this disparate decline depending on the city? The rapid rise in prices has not been followed by an increase in wages. “For example, in Rennes, prices have increased on average by +62.3% while incomes have only increased by 9.3%. The fall in interest rates was not enough to compensate for this difference”, explains Barbara Castillo Rico, head of economic studies at Meilleurs Agents.
Conversely, in Paris, income rose by 10.4% over the period, while property prices, already very high in 2017, “only” increased by 19.9%. Thus, a young worker wishing to acquire a property in Paris can now hope to afford 19m2 with a median salary in the city, compared to 20m2 five years ago.
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Between 2017 and 2022, in the 11 largest cities in France, with a median income you lost…
– 14m2 in Rennes (from 47m2 to 33m2)
– 9m2 in Nantes (from 46m2 to 37m2)
– 9m2 in Strasbourg (from 40m2 to 31m2)
– 8m2 in Lyon (from 37m2 to 29m2)
– 8m2 in Toulouse (from 44m2 to 36m2)
– 6m2 in Lille (from 39m2 to 33m2)
– 5m2 in Marseilles (from 40m2 to 35m2)
– 3m2 in Bordeaux (from 35m2 to 32m2)
– 3m2 in Montpellier (from 36m2 to 33m2)
– 2m2 in Nice (from 29m2 to 27m2)
– 1m2 in Paris (from 20m2 to 19m2)