Paris, like most of its peers at the top of the world city rankings, has a housing problem: house prices have rocketed by over 95 per cent in the past decade. The price of pre-existing apartments has tripled.
French law requires that anything sold or rented as a “living space” must be a minimum of 9 square metres, with running water, electricity, and access to a bathroom and kitchen. But rising prices have resulted in the renting and selling of illegal spaces that don’t live up to all, or any, of these requirements.
In March, The Guardian reported the story of a man paying €330 for a 1.56×1.56m room. (In case you were wondering, that means the average person wouldn’t be able to lie down in either direction. But they could lie from corner to corner, so that’s something.) La Foundation Abbe Piere, a housing action group, estimates that a fifth of the complaints they receive come from those living in tiny, illegal residences.
There is some hope. A 2012 study by the Economist found that France’s housing market was massively overvalued, with prices inflated by around 47 per cent. The crash they predicted hasn’t come about, but, after tripling in the decade to 2011, house prices to since seem to have levelled out a little. This chart shows the growth in the price of apartments in three major French cities since 2010:
Quarterly house price index of apartments. Excludes new builds. Source: CityMetric Intelligence.
As you can see, after a big, post-crash boom, prices have actually levelled out since 2011. Between 2012 and 2013, apartment prices in Paris dropped by 2.1 per cent to an average of €8,260 per square metre.
The national government has also introduced a slew of measures to tackle the problem, including two sets of legislation meant to provide more affordable rental accommodation and guarantee a stable housing market. Under the Loi Duflot, property buyers are entitled to tax reductions, and there’s a cap on estate agent fees and rents. And under Loi Alur, you can rent out your property without checking with the city government first – good news for buy-to-renters and Airbnb hosts alike.
Paris’s city government’s been doing its bit, too. In July, it announced that empty commercial buildings must be converted into useful spaces – such as apartments – or their owners will face fines. Meanwhile Anne Hidalgo, Paris’s mayor, has announced that city councillors can no longer live in council-owned accommodation.
So if you dream of owning property in Paris, don’t give up hope. That 3x3m palace could still be yours.
