Will 2022 be the record year for soaring prices? In this context, how and where to stay? Orpi takes stock of the market over the past 6 months. And gives tips for finding accessible accommodation!
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This first half, inflation has been confirmed on the real estate market… Since January 2022, the rise in prices has reached 7%. Record prices throughout the territory which significantly limit access to housing for the French, especially the most vulnerable households.
At a time when housing remains the main item of household expenditure (34% of the French budget), how and where to house the French? Orpi deciphers the cities where it is still possible to find accommodation or invest.
Are medium-sized cities becoming the new Paris?
Usually reserved for large cities, the increase continues to spread throughout the country, reaching 7% (on average) this first half.
The attraction for medium-sized towns is confirmed, positioning Limoges, Pau and Antibes on the podium of the towns most sought after by the French, who always come up against the price factor. Among the cities that have undergone the greatest increases, Pau is also at the top of the ranking with an average increase of 15% followed by Rennes (+14%) then Reims (+13%) and Montpellier (+13%) . After 2 years of dynamism sustained by the effects of the health crisis, these same cities, considered as carryover markets, are beginning to mark time. Thus, if new cities such as Toulon (+10% trade-off volume) or Perpignan (+30% trade-off volume) emerge and attract more and more, they are also likely to see their prices increase. A price/demand leverage effect that must be regulated at the risk of drying up the futures market.
Other factors are also leading to a return to normal market conditions: financial constraints, between inflation, rising interest rates and the tightening of credit access conditions, have a real impact on demand and on the dynamism of the market.
For Guillaume Martinaud, President of the Orpi cooperative: “ Yet central in the life of the French, housing is the great forgotten of the current situation. Absence of a ministry dedicated to housing, lack of sustainable policies or even too restrictive conditions, we must reverse the trend to breathe new life into the market and the French people! Paradoxically, housing is perceived as inaccessible while access to property is always a dream of the French, and our latest observatory has proven it: 42% of people under 35 consider real estate to be inaccessible. If we do not have miracle solutions, it seems essential to us that all housing actors unite in the general interest: to facilitate access to credit and free up land in order to increase housing capacity. ».
Conversely to the market, Paris stands out with an almost historic drop (-3%), a positive effect of the latter: an increase in the volume of compromises (+16%). Thanks to price regulation, buyers have been able to find THE much sought-after property. Will this rebalancing of the market now affect medium-sized towns which have seen their price per m² explode?
Cities still accessible to transactions!
In the first half of 2022, the amount of apartments sold at Orpi amounted to an average of €207,000, for average surface areas of 50 m² and €284,000 for a house of 120 m² on average. Some medium-sized towns still offer French people the possibility of realizing their acquisition dream. Orpi has therefore looked into these cities, where it is still possible to invest for your main residence or for a rental investment, by combining living comfort, accessibility of transport and price!
Where to buy a house for less than €250,000?
For example, near Toulouse, the towns of Montauban (€232,629) or Castelnaudary (€183,579) are interesting alternatives for taking up residence. With prices of €232,000 (Montauban) and €183,000 (Castelnaudary) for houses around 120 m², they offer the benefits of being close to a large town and with transport infrastructure. Niort also combines a pool of jobs and quality of life just 1 hour from La Rochelle offering houses for less than €200,000.
Where to invest in an apartment for less than €150,000?
As for apartments, it is possible to link attractive prices and attractive returns: for example, Biesheim benefits from the economic attractiveness of Strasbourg, where the average price of apartments amounts to €104,000. In equivalent proportions, Nîmes, Dax and Boulogne-sur-Mer are also interesting options for future buyers.
And for tenants?
Investors experiencing an increase in the purchase price, increase the amount of rents thus penalizing tenants. On average, our customers pay €691/month in the rent of their accommodation, with disparities depending on the city: ranging from €516/month in Reims for 48m² to €1,046 for 33m² for Parisians.
The price of rents weighs on the portfolio of tenants who pay a high price and are forced to move away from the big cities. Concerning the students who will soon start looking for their accommodation for the start of the school year, certain neighboring towns of the major student towns can prove to be interesting alternatives. For example, in Antony, Meudon or Meaux, tenants pay on average less than €500 for a 25m² apartment, half as much as in the capital and less than 30 minutes away by public transport.
« To maintain the return on properties in the face of rising prices, rental amounts are also pushed up. If the ceiling on the increase in rents is good news for tenants, this measure remains – in the same way as the control of rents in large cities – a band-aid and short-term solution. To return to affordable prices allowing acquisition or rental, we must bet on expanding the offer and act on both land policy and tax policy. If landlords take advantage of the increase in rents set at 3.5% by the Minister of the Economy to catch up on rents which had not increased for many years, many of them will have to anticipate the obligations of the Climate and Resilience lawadds Guillaume Martinaud.
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