Parisian property ranges from the very expensive to the marginally less expensive. It’s certainly not somewhere you go for a bargain. However, it certainly the most consistently in demand as far as the rental market is concerned, so would be well worth considering from an investment perspective.
The wider Île-de-France region is not as consistently expensive as central Paris. The region’s departments are organised into three main groups: Paris, the petite couronne (or inner ring), which encompasses the Hautsde- Seine, Seine-St-Denis and Val-de-Marne departments; and the grande couronne (outer ring) which includes Val-d’Oise, Essonne, Yvelines and Seine-et-Marne.
Property prices vary hugely throughout the region, with property in Paris as a whole commanding an average of €6,730 per square metre, the petite couronne averaging out at €3,987 per square metre and property within the grande couronne reaching an average of €2,675 per square metre.
In Paris itself, property prices can be split into four main groups. The most expensive arrondissements are those that flank the Seine: the first, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh arrondissements. Here property prices range from €8,370 to €9,330 on average. The 16th, eighth, second and third arrondissements, meanwhile, average out at €7,735 and are thus dubbed merely ‘expensive’. More accessible are the ninth, 15th, 14th, 13th, 12th, 11th and 17th arrondissements, at €5,900-€6,750 per square metre, while at an average of €5,450 per square metre, apartments within the 10th, 18th, 19th and 20th districts are considered affordable – which obviously depends on your definition of affordable, or your budget.
Those who can stretch to the top whack are well advised to invest in what is considered to be the safest of all French property, that is luxury property in the consistently popular central districts. Property in luxury zones and on the most chic streets is still in demand from foreign investors, meaning that it is likely to maintain its value and then some.
Those prepared to take a risk could invest in property in the 10th district. The highspeed Eurostar link pulls in to the Gare du Nord station here, so property in and around the station could become sought after by British expats looking to commute on a regular basis. However, currently the district is not the most savoury that Paris has to offer – so potential investors would have to take a longterm view.
Commuters could also consider buying far to the north of Paris. The 18th district, known as Montmartre, has a lively vibe, with its small, steep cobbled streets and many cabarets, restaurants and bars. Residents here would benefit from the best of both worlds: quick access to the Eurostar in the 10th (directly below the 18th) and to Charles de Gaulle airport, which sits to the north of Paris on the inner ring. Directly above this district is the Plaine St Denis, an area that has been transformed in the last 10 years to house France’s film industry and Stade de France.
Average property prices in Seine-St-Denis come in at €3,130 per square metre. However, bear in mind that the departments of Seine-St- Denis and Val-d’Oise (to the north of Paris) both have a high proportion of immigrants and were at the centre of the Parisian riots of 2005 and 2007.
Within the inner ring there are some particularly bouyant areas. Prices in Clichy-sous- Bois, for example, soared 14.9% in the first quarter of 2010, while growth in Neuilly-sur-Marne hit 8.7%.
In the outer ring, three of the departments experienced a year-on-year increase albeit small. Among the most successful were the communes of Chatou in Yvelines which saw a 24.2% increase and Champs-sur-Mer in Seine-et- Marne with a rise of 14.6%.
For an altogether quieter life, Essonne to the south of Paris is home to the 3,500ha Forêt de Senart. The forest attracts two to three million visitors per year and the government spends €1-2m on maintaining the area annually. Yvelines, meanwhile, boasts its fair share of tourist attractions with Versailles and the Rambuillet forest. The department also has a section of the regional parks Parc de la Haute-Vallée de Chevreuse and Parc du Vexin Français, plus one of France’s most well-known golf courses, La Tuilerie Bignon in St-Nom-la-Bretèche
Seine-et-Marne has by no means been left out. Although the department is mainly composed of farmland (60%), with the Brie natural reserve (where the eponymous cheese is produced), the Disneyland Resort Paris is sited here and new developments have sprung up in the vicinity in response.
Source: French Property Buying Guide 2010 / 2011
Back