The health crisis has considerably boosted searches for property on the transaction market, according to a study by Pap.fr, a site for real estate advertisements between individuals. Teleworking has also had a significant impact on the nature of housing searches.
Real estate purchase: property searches up 34.1%
At the national level, the total increase over the year stands at + 34.1% of searches, which is much higher than the trend at the beginning of 2020. The health crisis will therefore have literally “boosted” the research which has not never increased in such proportions and so rapidly, from one year to the next, says Papa.fr
A before and after Covid-19
If we compare the searches for real estate purchases from September 1 to December 31, 2020 with the same period in 2019, the observation is clear, according to Pap.fr: the health crisis has permanently modified the search criteria of the French.
Houses now represent 66.7% of searches, against 57.2% before the health crisis. The interest in single-family homes, already noted in the spring and summer of 2020, has not faltered. From September 1 to December 31, 2020, house searches increased by 58.2%, while apartments only increased by 7% over the period.
43.5% of property searches in small towns and rural areas
Small towns and rural areas account for 43.5% of searches for property at the end of the year, up from 33.6% before Covid-19. Large cities (more than 100,000 inhabitants) go from 31.2% of searches to 24.8%.
This is one of the effects of teleworking which is becoming institutionalized: research is expanding around employment pools.
The desire to live outside the metropolises
Even if most cities are making progress (unlike Paris) in the search for future buyers, their average is only + 4.4%, which is far from the national average. And the departments in which they are located are growing by 33.5% on average. This phenomenon can be observed in all French metropolises: the progression is much stronger in the department than in the city-center itself.
Thus, when Bordeaux grew by + 11.3%, the Gironde grew by + 65.7%. While Strasbourg grew by + 24.1%, the Bas-Rhin region grew by + 51.6%. When Lyon grew by + 13.5%, the Rhône grew by + 50.3%. The towns of Caluire-et-Cuire (42,300 inhabitants) and Écully (17,900 inhabitants), in the Lyon metropolis, are among the top 10 small and medium-sized towns with the highest growth, with research increasing respectively by 107.1% and 98.5%.
House searches explode in Isère, Savoie and Haute-Savoie
House searches increased by 166.5% in Isère, but apartments were not to be outdone with + 44.9%. In Savoie, house searches are up 134.1% against 97.9% in Haute-Savoie, and apartments are up 48.4% in Savoie and 43.4% in Haute-Savoie. These three departments are part of the top 10 of the strongest progressions.
The cities of Aix-les-Bains (29,800 inhabitants) in Savoie and Saint-Julien-en Genevois (14,100 inhabitants) in Haute-Savoie are among the top 10 small and medium-sized towns with the highest growth, with searches up 106.8% and 194.8% respectively.
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