The majority of French cities saw house price drops during 2023 as the property market slumped with historically low sales numbers.
However some areas did buck the trend and saw prices rise over the same period.
The information on sales comes from the French notaires and is considered the most accurate available as it includes all sales in any given period rather than an estate agent group or federation, which covers only a proportion.
The data takes several months to compile and the latest figures look at the change in price of houses sold between January/March 2023 - 2024 with those sold January/March 2022 - 2023.
It looks at the median value of house prices in several cities.
The notaires also covered the median price per m² of flats, which similarly saw prices fall last year across most of France.
House prices dropped by around 10% in the period in many major cities, including Lille (down 10.2%), Nantes (-10.8%), Grenoble (-10.8%) and Bordeaux (-9.8%).
Smaller cities that saw prices fall by more than this included Troyes (down 13.8%), Limoges (-11.5%) and Amiens (-12.9%).
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The Île-de-France region, including Paris, saw prices fall by 8.4%.
The biggest drop was in northern Corsica, where house prices fell by 16.6%. This follows a period of large increases on the island, which at one point rose year-on-year by 25%.
Smattering of price increases
A handful of mid-size cities, however, saw house price increases although there was no regional basis or common trait.
Montauban (+4.6%) saw the highest price rise, with Dijon (+3.1%). Orléans and Chartres (+2.7%) also saw an increase in property values.
Guadeloupe saw house prices increase by 16%, however the market is largely separated from the French mainland and was not affected by the market downturn in the same way.
Small coastal towns, popular with second-home owners, largely managed to avoid the property slump due to their unique status within the market.
Most, including Saint-Malo, Pornic and Trouville-sur-Mer saw prices increase, as well as larger towns including Cherbourg.
As expected, house prices are highest in major cities. However, just two areas recorded median house price figures of €400,000 or more.
This data comes with the caveat that France’s two largest cities – Paris and Marseille – are paired with surrounding areas.
Suburban house prices are also factored into the data, repressing costs in cities where prices are significantly higher than the median in central areas but are lower in the suburbs.
In addition, some major cities – such as Nice – largely consist of flats as opposed to houses, and are not included in the list.
Despite prices falling in the north of the island, southern Corsica had the highest property prices, at €468,000.
The next four highest areas were
Toulon (€450,000)
Lyon (€399,700)
Montpellier (€397,700)
Marseille/Aix-en-Provence (€383,000).
In comparison, the lowest prices were in Châteauroux, where median prices were €125,000.
This was followed by:
Troyes (€163,800)
Limoges (€165,300)
Poitiers (€174,000)
Nancy (€210,000)
You can see the full map below, and the full report on the notaire'swebsite.
In isolation, data for the first quarter of 2024 showed the drop in property prices was slowing down, and price increases were beginning in more areas.
