In 2023 and early 2024, the real estate market was very favorable for buyers. Firstly, there were fewer of them and the choice of products for sale was much wider. “Ads increased 40% in Q2 2023 compared to the same period in 2019, the last stable year before Covid.” says Régis Sébille, head of analytics for the advertising site Bien’ici.
Buyers also had more time to decide, as items on sale sold more slowly. Listing delivery time is at a five-year high, averaging 84 days in September, 3.5 days longer than in Q2 2024 and 7 days longer than in summer 2023.
Finally, the drop in prices has also been favourable to buyers. Remember that Paris has suffered its biggest drop in prices since the beginning of the century (-14.1% since 2020) and that a large number of cities have seen their market slow down. “But we should not expect prices to drop significantly, especially in Ile-de-France.”the notaries of Greater Paris estimated during their press conference on September 10.
Real estate lending is picking up again, which will attract more buyers to the market. There will also be fewer properties for sale: advertisements are becoming increasingly scarce, especially for apartments, with a drop of 11% between summer 2023 and summer 2024.
However, there are still great opportunities for buyers, as long as they are prepared. The first step is to have your budget validated by your bank, a credit broker or, better yet, by having the funds available. “A buyer who buys without a credit suspension clause has great negotiating power”says Eric Allouche, executive director of ERA France.
Energy-intensive housing
Although it varies greatly depending on the region, the condition of the property and the wishes of the seller, the LPI-iad barometer for August 2024 indicates that negotiation margins can reach up to 9%. In Burgundy, Limousin, Poitou-Charentes and even Rhône-Alpes, it is even higher than 9%. It is in Basse-Normandie that the rate is lowest, with a rate of 6.8% for apartments and 5.2% for houses.
The scope for negotiation is particularly important when it comes to homes that require work or consume energy, i.e. those with an F or G rating in the energy performance assessment (EPA). In this case, the advertising portal GoFlint indicates that the discount can reach 19% compared to energy-efficient homes.
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