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www.leggettfrance.com
In the longer term, the Grand
Paris Express is the largest
transport project in Europe and
is revolutionising the capital. The
project will run until 2030 and will
better connect with the three Paris
airports with the business districts
as well as making the daily lives
of two million commuters much
easier. The implications are huge
for the residential property market
within Paris and the Île-de-France,
stimulating demand from both home
and abroad. With London more
isolated since Brexit, and American
and Asian buyers enamoured with
the Parisian fashion/luxury sector,
the real estate sector here will
continue to thrive.
The Notaires in Paris are in
agreement that, while the market is
less fluid, it remains robust. They are
quick to point out that "In the 3rd
quarter of 2022, sales volumes fell
by 10% compared to the previous
year, which remains, it should be
remembered, the highest level ever
reached for a 3rd quarter. Despite
this slowdown, activity has remained
at a historically high level. Year on
year, nearly 41,000 apartments were
sold in the capital, a level well above
(+23%) the average of 33,200 units
sold over the past 10 years".
In short, over the last 12 months
188,500 homes were sold in the
capital, barely 3% less than the year
earlier and still close to historical
records. It is clear that, in common
with other leading cities, the
property market is becoming less
buoyant, and banks are tightening
their belts. Across France, the
number of mortgages approved in
October 2022 was down 40% on the
previous month. However, property
in Paris is seen as a safe-haven and
a means of securing assets against
inflation.
Sonya Severac runs our Paris office,
in the heart of the prestigious Île
Saint-Louis. She is excited that we
will be opening a second office this
year, on the adjacent Île de la Cité,
home to Notre-Dame Cathedral:
"I believe that we will be the only
national agency to have an office on
both islands, giving us windows to
the world.
At the end of last year, we saw a lull
in the demand from buyers in Paris
and the Île-de-France, with the
exception of the micro-markets in
the capital. These are extra resilient
to economic and political upheaval -
they cover the very centre of Paris,
including both islands, the 3rd, 4th
and along the Boulevard St Germain.
The 5th, 6th and upmarket streets in
the 8th, 16th and 17th always have
strong demand from investors and
overseas buyers too.
The most active buyers are at the
top end, we have seen an influx of
Americans particularly, and those
who have an income related to the
dollar. These HNWI's are seeking
architecturally attractive buildings,
in prime areas. The quintessential
style of 19th century Haussmann
buildings, with their stone façades
and wrought iron details, set Paris
apart from other global capitals.
It was Napoleon III who tasked
Georges-Eugene Haussmann, in
1853, with changing Paris from a
ramshackle mediaeval city into a
cohesive city of light, what a forward
thinker he was!"
Grand Paris Express