Are French estate agents’ property valuations reliable?

Reader Question: I am looking to move to France, but I have seen very different prices for similar properties in the area I want to move to. Can I trust what estate agents say regarding prices, or are they always looking to get the best deal for themselves?

Estate agents, of course, want to obtain a good price for the client (and themselves) but they also want to set a realistic price as most sellers appreciate a quick sale.

The market is just starting to pick up after a slow spell where prices have been falling overall, and spending power of buyers is improving, with mortgage rates starting to fall after previous rises. However, agents will advise clients against setting an unreasonably high price.

Fair asking price

While price estimations can vary from one agent to another, they use many criteria to set what they consider a fair asking price based on recent sales in the area, surface area of the property, and factors such as view and amenities, its condition etc. 

The final price the property is put on sale for is then set after discussion with the client, but as mentioned the agent will advise against asking too much, as it is in both parties’ interests for the property to sell.

Having said this, the historical norm in France has been that sellers and buyers expect to negotiate down a little – around 5% on average – and reportedly some buyers have been pushing for up to 10 or 20% off on properties with low (eg. F or G) energy-efficiency ratings, a factor that has become increasingly important in recent years. 

Read more: Where in France are people now negotiating most off a property?  

Checking the valuation of a French property 

If you are unsure whether a property has been reasonably priced, there are many ways to check if it is around the average for the area in question. 

Some estate agent websites, particularly larger ones, will offer free (approximate) estimates for property prices in an area, based on the number of rooms/m². 

However for this, they may not take into account all other factors that affect prices, such as views, exact neighbourhood, layout, property type, etc. For example, there can be around a 15% difference between the price of a ground floor flat and one on the top floor with the latter viewed as more desirable. If a flat is especially smartly renovated, or alternatively, very shabby, that will also make a significant difference, as do amenities such as parking spaces, cellars or garages, terraces, gardens etc. 

There are also several official state or notaire tools.

The site: app.dvf.etalab.gouv.fr is a free database of sale prices in the last five years. Users can zoom in on the map to a given area and see, for example, that on a given date a 50m2 flat sold for €100,000.

For those with a personal space at the tax website impots.gouv.fr, further details on recent sales can be viewed by clicking ‘Autres services’ and ‘Rechercher des transactions immobilières’. This requires you to state the reason for using the service, which in this case would be ‘acquisition potentielle d’un bien immobilier’ (potential purchase of a property). 

Read more: How long does it take to sell a property in France in 2024?