“Does Becoming a Homeowner in High-Priced Cities Increase Living Space? A SeLoger Study Reveals the Truth”

While the real estate market is marked both by a net decline in the number of loans granted and by a fall in prices which seems to be taking hold throughout France, is it still a good idea to buy when the are we a first-time buyer? Does becoming an owner allow me to gain living space? Answers with a study of the real estate advertisement portal SeLoger.

Real estate, a safe investment according to tenants

According to the Observatory of real estate morale of SeLoger *, 67% of tenants consider that real estate remains a safe bet in terms of investment. They are almost 9 out of 10 to dream of being owners.

But they are only 22% to consider that it is the right moment to buy and 77% anticipate a new rise in interest rates.

Wait, is that a good thing?

“If it is true that the market is recording a drop in real estate prices, a wait-and-see attitude is not necessarily always the best option, notes Barbara Castillo-Risco, head of economic studies at SeLoger. Indeed, the current situation of each is to be taken into account. For example, for profiles whose interest rate is already approaching the imposed maximum threshold of 35% indebtedness, waiting could harm their access to credit. »

Grenoble, Besançon, Villeurbanne: a loss of less than 20 m² by buying

In these cities, we lose the equivalent of a large room by buying rather than renting. Or 15 m² lost in Grenoble and Besançon and 18 m² in Villeurbanne.

Mulhouse, Saint-Étienne, Bourges: a larger area by buying

According to SeLoger, among the 51 largest cities in France, becoming an owner in 20% of them can save space compared to renting, with an equivalent monthly payment.

Thus, whether it is devoted to rent or credit, buying in Mulhouse makes it possible, for example, to consider two or even three more rooms compared to renting, with a gain in living space of 38 m².

The towns of Saint-Étienne and Bourges allow you to gain 27 m² and 21 m² respectively by becoming an owner. Unsurprisingly, these are cities for which prices remain affordable: €1,358 per m² in Mulhouse, €1,450 per m² in Saint-Étienne and €1,671 per m² in Bourges.

Lyon, Strasbourg, Dijon: a smaller area by buying

Although a downtrend in price has begun, the price declines are much smaller than the rises. The average price in France now stands at €3,198 per m² according to SeLoger, or +28.7% over the last five years.

Thus, in most large French cities, buying will require making an effort on the surface for the same monthly payment compared to renting. In La Rochelle, for example, it is more interesting to remain a tenant in terms of real estate power. With an average purchase price of €5,023 per m² (+61.6% over the last five years), renting can save 37 m² compared to the purchase for an identical monthly payment.

In Aix-en-Provence, an identical monthly payment makes it possible to rent a 75 m apartment²against 42 m² upon purchase (i.e. – 32 m²).

In Strasbourg, you can rent a 63 m²against 41 m² at purchase (- 22 m²) and in Dijon a 90 m², compared to a 69 m² unit for purchase.

Nancy, Metz, Colmar: an almost equivalent area

With an identical monthly payment, in certain cities, renting or buying amounts to living almost in an equivalent surface, as in Nancy (- 1 m² when buying), Metz (- 3 m² when buying), Colmar (- 5 m² when buying) and Avignon (- 7 m² by buying).

* Survey carried out from January 17 to 29, 2023 among 682 tenant alertists (subscribed to alerts by email) SeLoger and Logic Immo, aged 18 or over and representative of the target.