Over the course of a year, the total purchasable area in France decreased by 2.5 m²
According to data from the Crédit Logement CSA Barometer, the amount of living space that can be purchased in France has decreased by 2.5 m² over the past year. Here’s why.
For a period of 10 years, through 2021, the French enjoyed very favorable conditions for buying real estate, thanks to a steady expansion in access to mortgages.
The Crédit Logement CSA barometer shows that between 2011 and 2021, mortgage rates fell significantly, from 3.81% in 2011 to 1.06% in 2021. At the same time, loan terms continued to lengthen, rising from 215 months (17.9 years) in 2011 to 233 months (19.4 years) in 2021. Down payment requirements have also decreased.
Despite a 22% increase in real estate prices (an average of 2.00% per year), households’ purchasing power improved, leading to a 15.3-square-meter increase in the amount of living space they could afford, from 57.2 square meters to 72.5 square meters.
Homeownership Will Become More Complex Starting in 2022
However, starting in the spring of 2022, inflation and rising interest rates changed the landscape. Real estate prices remained high, while access to credit tightened. This combination of factors led to the exclusion from the market of French buyers who did not have a sufficient down payment. As a result, the amount of living space that could be purchased decreased by 5.2 m² between 2021 and 2023. This trend accelerated in 2023, with an additional drop of 3.7 m² in a single year. Although the rise in apartment prices slowed in 2023, rising interest rates contributed to a rapid deterioration in household purchasing power. However, in 2023, the purchasable living area was 10.1 m² greater than in 2011.
Between 2011 and 2023, the area of housing that could be purchased increased by 10 m², but not uniformly across all cities
Between 2011 and 2023, although the area of housing that could be purchased increased by 10.1 m² for France as a whole, it decreased by 30% in major cities due to significant disparities in prices and incomes.
In just over 12% of major cities, the available living space increased by more than 10 m². This is the case, for example, in Limoges, Mulhouse, Perpignan, and Toulon—often due to a moderate increase in prices—or in Orléans, due to the arrival of buyers with greater purchasing power. Conversely, the purchasable area has decreased in 30% of major cities, such as Bordeaux and Nantes, where prices have risen rapidly, or in Annecy, Brest, Rennes, and Villeurbanne, where demand is strong and purchasing power is high. In Paris, the purchasable area has increased by 6 m² since 2011, despite high prices.
Over the course of a year, the total purchasable area in France decreased by 2.5 m²
Over the past year, the average saleable area in France has decreased by 2.5 m². In most major cities, this decline has been modest, ranging from 1 to 4 m². However, some cities have seen a much more pronounced decrease, such as Amiens and Metz (-10 m²), as well as Nîmes (-9 m²), Rouen (-7 m²), Saint-Étienne, Aix-en-Provence, Villeurbanne, and Toulon (-5 m²).
The saleable area increased in Clermont-Ferrand (+5 m²), Tours (+3 m²), and Lyon (+1 m²). It remained stable in Boulogne-Billancourt, Nancy, and Nantes. In Lille, Caen, Angers, Montreuil, Le Mans, and Montpellier, the decrease in saleable area was limited to 1 m².
