Despite the pandemic and multiple lockdowns that caused uncertainty in many industries, the French real estate market has remained solid and stable. French property prices have risen across the country, with 100% of French cities reporting increases, and estate agents are confident that demand will continue to grow in 2021. If you are planning to invest in France real estate, it is a good choice for you. When you visit AmonAvis, you will see reviews from French citizens about the current of real estate.
The French housing market in 2020
France’s real estate market has been booming since the lockdown was lifted in mid-May 2020. France’s official statistics agency has reported that during the COVID-19 lockdown, the French property market suffered a complete collapse, with virtually no sales between March and May 2020 due to the closure of most Real Estate agencies and Notary offices. There were 973,000 house sales in the 12 months leading up to June 2020, and that number would have been higher if not for the three-month lockdown. You can visit Miniinthebox for reviews on how to house items.
The French government has also encouraged banks to relax lending criteria and provide incentives in the real estate industry. Moreover, there are signs that French banks are willing to lend to non-French residents with more discretion (by now taking into account Pension income and allowing more significant consideration of rental income from other properties to support mortgage applications). Some banks still offer a variable-repayment mortgage at 1.24% and a fixed-rate mortgage at 2.15%. It is too early to tell if these efforts have positively impacted bank lending in France, but the Q3 2020 statistics have a lot to it.
The French economy is expected to rebound in 2021
France’s economy is likely to grow 7.4% in 2021 and 3.0% in 2022, according to the Bank of France’s most recent macroeconomic forecasts released in September 2020. On the whole, France’s economy shrinks by -8.7% in 2020 due to restrictions on industrial production, export, investment, and household consumption. France’s GDP will likely reach its pre-Covid crisis levels at the beginning of 2022, based on the forecasts for 2021.
ACCORDING TO INSEE, FRANCE’S official statistics body for Q3 2020, France’s economy rebounded by 18.2%. Unprecedented government assistance to protect wages and furloughed workers in France has boosted household consumption by 17.3% during the third quarter of 2020. Q3 2020 saw a rebound in foreign trade, with exports up 23.2% and imports up 16.0%.
It was estimated that France’s economy would shrink by -13.7% in Q2 2020 due to the Coronavirus outbreak. The French GDP is also -4.3% lower than in Q3 of 2019, even after accounting for the strong rebound in Q3 of 2020.
Prices of French real estate have tripled
Not only have property prices risen in all major French cities this year (locations with over 100,000 residents), but according to SeLoger, the average price of a property in France has almost tripled over the last 25 years.
This trend is even more dramatic in Paris. Since 1995, the capital’s average price per square meter has increased five times, from €2,478 to €10,552.
In other cities, the growth has been particularly pronounced. With a significant increase in recent years, the price of goods in Nantes has nearly doubled in the last decade. Unsurprising, perhaps, given that Nantes was voted the second-best city in France for the second consecutive year. Residents of Loire-Atlantique city praised its high employment rates, high quality of life, and low cost of living.