Chartres and the entire department of Eure-et-Loir have many assets to attract first-time buyers. There is, of course, the proximity to the Paris region which allows you to enjoy a preserved environment without straying too far from the capital. But there are also the various employment pools in the department, Chartres, Dreux and Châteaudun, which offer many jobs and therefore attract young workers.
Ile-de-France tenants
Many tenants in the Ile-de-France, especially since the end of the covid crisis, do not hesitate to move away from their place of work to find more attractive property prices and access property. Until recently, in Chartres, they could represent up to 30% of demand.
Between the pedestrian areas of the upper town and the calm of the banks of the Eure, its world-famous cathedral or its conservatory, the prefecture of the department offers an excellent quality of life, one hour from Paris.
For local first-time buyers, this is obviously a problem since the market is suddenly at high levels, above 2,500 euros per square meter for Chartres and its agglomeration (see map next page). Two years ago, the median price was between 2,000 and 2,200 euros per square meter. Consequence: to find their happiness, first-time buyers will have to aim for smaller surfaces, move away from the city center or benefit from a substantial contribution.
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Dreux or Châteaudun
First-time buyers will have less difficulty making ends meet for an acquisition in Dreux or Châteaudun. In these cities, finding a first purchase between 100,000 and 120,000 euros is possible. For this price, one can find, for example, a house of about 80 m2 in Châteaudun or, in Dreux, a house with three rooms, with a small garden. For a T3 of around 50 m2, it will cost around 75,000 euros in Nogent-le-Rotrou.
Dreux (Photo Adobe Stock)
Already blocked by the price level, first-time buyers are today, in addition, stopped by the problems of financing their project. Rising interest rates and tougher loan terms hit them hard.
But in all things, misfortune is good: the real estate market is currently slowing down sharply, in Eure-et-Loir as elsewhere. Eventually, sellers will have no choice but to adjust their sale price to sell their property. New opportunities should therefore be offered to prospective buyers, with more choice between different products and more affordable prices. Prices in Eure-et-Loir have increased significantly following the Covid crisis. Today, the market tends to stabilize and first-time buyers could find their account.
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Expert advice: Nicolas Maitrejean, Century 21 agency, in Chartres
What is the classic demand from first-time buyers in your sector?
In 2022, 30% of tenants who bought a property through our agency bought an apartment. The average basket of this clientele, which we always take care to validate, was €170,000. In more than half of the cases, these requests concerned two-room apartments, for an average budget of €144,000. The average area requested was 43 m2, in Chartres or its agglomeration.
And for the houses?
As far as houses in Chartres and its agglomeration are concerned, the average buyer’s budget was €300,000 in 2022, for an average requested area of 100 m2. This represents, therefore, good budgets, a clear increase compared to the previous year.
How is the market doing now?
Here, as everywhere in France, the market is beginning to stabilize.
It started in Paris. We also saw this a few months ago in our agency in Rambouillet and it is now happening in medium-sized towns like Chartres. The demand is less strong and, at the same time, we are starting to have more properties to sell. The number of transactions is decreasing and prices should, logically, start to fall.
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