Buying property in Paris

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How to find the perfect property in Paris, whether you want to live in an apartment in Paris's city centre or find a house in the quieter Parisian suburbs.

Paris has the largest number of English-speaking expats in France. The cost of living in Paris is high but you get a lot for your euros in this upmost cosmopolitan city, with its tree-lined boulevards, bistros, markets, shops and world-famous landmarks. Find out where to buy a house in Paris to make the best investment for your needs while living in France's exciting captial.

Paris is still a good place to buy

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While property prices in most of France have fallen over the past few years, homes in Paris have continued to rise (an incredible 37 percent since 2009) – until now, according to financial news agency Bloomberg. As French president François Hollande introduces tax increases and cuts property subsidies, it looks as if property prices will fall – and continue to fall – in Paris. So while it might not be a great time to buy if you're looking for a quick return on your property, you might be able to bag yourself a bargain if you're lucky. Paris is always going to be a good place to buy property: "Prices in Paris won't collapse," says Bernard Cadeau, Chairman of Orpi, France's largest real estate agency "everybody in the world wants to buy in Paris." The scarcity of rented accommodation in the city means that you'll always be able to rent out your home.

How much are properties in Paris?

Property in Paris is sold (and priced) by the square metre. As a rough guide, an average one-bedroom apartment is about 30 square metres; something more palatial could be up to 500 square metres.

If you're single or a couple without children then deciding where to live in Paris is probably a no brainer: you'll want to live in the city itself. But if you're coming to live here with your family, you might want to look outside the city limits, especially if you want to buy a house (although bear in mind that most bilingual/international schools will be in the city and immediate surroundings).

Paris is divided into 20 different neighbourhoods called arrondissements, each with its own number, character and special features. Starting right in the centre, the first is situated on the right bank of the Seine around the Louvre. Each successive arrondissement is located in a clockwise spiral direction around the city, rather like a snail shell, and numbered consecutively – so the lowest numbers are the most central and the highest are the furthest out. For more information on each of the 20 arrondissements, see 'Where to live in Paris'. Unsurprisingly, the further away from the centre you go, the cheaper the property (although, like most cities, most districts in Paris have expensive and less expensive areas within them).

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What can you buy in Paris's 20 arrondissements

What little residential property there is amongst the museums and theatres in this most central of arrondissements is extremely elegant – think Rococo, Renaissance and Empire – and expensive. For example, an elegant apartment near the Place Vendome or Tuileriescan costs well over EUR 13,000 per square metre, although something on a busy road above the shops of the rue de Rivoli will be cheaper at around EUR 11,000 per square metre.

This tiny but diverse area contains the Paris Stock Exchange, wholesale shops and hidden bars – and some pricey properties (over EUR 11,000 per square metre around the pedestrianised Montorgueil area or EUR 15,700 per square metre for a bijoux apartment on the rue Léopold-Bellan) and cheaper, less charming places along the large boulevards north of the rue de Clery at around EUR 7,000 per square metre .

This is where you'll find the fashionable, buzzy Marais, centre of the city's gay and Jewish communities, and the very sought after (expensive) Ile St Louis. Tall wooden doors hide elegant courtyards and mansion apartments: the older parts in the south are more expensive. A small apartment on the desirable rue Vieille-du-Temple may cost up to EUR 14,750 per square metre; a ‘character' apartment in the area from the Hotel de Ville to St Paul will start at around EUR 10,800 per square metre. If this is too expensive, then look behind the Pompidou Centre or between Temple and the Place de le Republic for properties around EUR 8,500 per square metre. If you find an apartment needing renovation, you may be able to negotiate up to an 8 percent discount.

The Latin Quarter may be full of students, with cheap cafes and bars, but the chic apartments in beautiful buildings cost a packet: around the Sorbonne and Pantheon are upwards of EUR 11,200 per square metre. Prices are a lot cheaper round the Gared'Austerlitz. Look out for Art Nouveau and Art Deco buildings in amongst the older properties.

This area, with its narrow medieval streets, cool restaurants, bookshops, fashion houses, prestigious academic institutions and the Jardin du Luxembourg, is very fashionable and very expensive: a tiny (95 square metres) apartment overlooking the St-Sulpice church recently sold for EUR 2 million (EUR 21,000 per square metre). Most start between EUR 10,500 and 13,500 per square metre.

A large apartment in a grand Art Nouveau or Art Deco block in this exclusive, aristocratic area may give you a view overlooking the Eiffel Tower or Les Invalides but will set you back a hefty EUR 15,000 per square metre.

The best value places are to the north of the Gare St Lazare (if you're close to the tracks and don't mind the noise, you can pick something up for under EUR 6,500 per square metre). Apartments in the Golden Triangle (Champs-Elysées – Avenue Montaigne – Avenue George V) are at the other extreme. Architecture ranges from Renaissance, through 19th-century Haussmann to Art Deco and Post World War II.

Prices average EUR 9,000 per square metre in this area – a mix of business and residential – including the upmarket Boulevard Haussmannand shops like Galeries Lafayette. Look to the slightly sleazier area to the north, closer to Pigalle and the red light district, and you can slash around EUR 1,500 off the square metre price. You'll find 18th-century apartment blocks called immeuble de rappor there in the 9th (and in some of the other arrondissements, too). Flat-fronted, they have small rectangular rooms (sometimes knocked into larger rooms), parquet floors, brick fireplaces and lowish ceilings.

Despite urban renewal, the 10th still has run-down areas and a fair amount of crime (especially around the Gare du Nord and the Gare de l'Est), but that's why you'll pay around EUR 7,000 per square metre for an apartment here.The Canal St-Martin area has become very trendy – disused factories transformed into lofts, for example – with prices upwards of EUR 9,000 per square metre; add EUR 2,000 per square metre for a canal-side view.

This area is densely populated with a mix of people: young singles, couples, gay, trendy, bourgeois, and poorer immigrants. There are parks and markets around the trendy Place de la Bastille and Place de la République (and apartments for around EUR 9,000 per square metre); and trendy, shops and restaurants around rue Oberkampf and rue Fauberg St Antoine. An apartment in a 1980s block with balcony and parking around the Père-Lachaise cemetery costs around EUR 10,000 per square metre.

Primarily residential and popular with young families, the area has been regenerated in recent years. It has open spaces – Parc de Bercy and the vast park Bois de Vincennes – and trendy shops. You can expect prices to the north to be EUR 8,000+ per square metre, while further south a 1970s or 80s condo will be around EUR 7,000 per square metre.

There's been lots of regeneration here too, with masses of (not very attractive) modern high rises and the city's main Chinatown area. Historic Butte aux Calles has cobbled streets and a villagey feel but is generally pricey, with 19th-century apartments between EUR 9,800 and 11,000 per square metre. Cheaper prices can be found in Tolbiac where 1960s–70s apartments with parking go for under EUR 8,500 per square metre. Cheaper still are the modern blocks on the outskirts of the city, priced around EUR 5,000 per square metre .

This area, dominated by Montparnasse, is a residential area popular with UK and US expats. Around the beautiful Montsouris park there are streets lined with houses, not apartments, which is very unusual in Paris. Apartments in Montparnasse and Denfert-Rochereaucost are in the region of EUR 10,000 per square metre and upwards; prices get a lot cheaper the further south you go towards the périphérique – around Porte de Choicy, or Porte d'Ivry you can pick up something modern between EUR 5,000 and 7,500 per square metre.

Another densely populated areas of Paris, this solid residential area hasn't got much in the way of nightlife or culture – but it does have some of Paris' most prestigious schools, some of which are bilingual. Property gets more expensive (and more attractive: Art Deco and Nouveau, Haussmann) the closer you get to the elegant 6th and 7th. Further south, closer to the périphérique, property is less prestigious but much cheaper. The average price for the area is just over EUR 9,000 per square metre.

This is a very affluent, leafy, safe and conservative residential area popular with (wealthy) families, with several museums and the vast Bois de Boulogne (a park twice the size of Central Park). The average price here is just over EUR 10,175 per square metre. As well as period and modern apartments, there are lots of private hôtels particuliers, some still occupied by single families, and some gated, single-family mansions.

In the north west of the city, what was once a rough working-class area has now become fashionable amongst the young. While the average price is around EUR 8,000 per square metre, prices rise around the villagey Place St Ferdinand, Parc Monceau and rue De Prony, but drop very substantially around La Fourche in the north. Foreigners like the area around the Arc de Triomphe/Ternes for its central location.

This area contains Montmartre (and the Sacré Cœur) with its truly breath-taking views across the city (and some breath-taking prices to match: EUR 11,500 per square metre at the top end). While some parts are a bit touristy, there are lots of quiet, leafy little back streets. Property gets cheaper in La Goutte d'Or and La Chapell, giving an overall average property price of just over EUR 7,000 per square metre.The 18th is also the African/North African district, with the famous Barbès market.

A large arrondissement with a couple of nice parks (one containing the city's science museum) but generally rather run down. Property sells at an average price of EUR 5,000 per square metre here, but while you may bag yourself a bargain, make sure that you'll feel comfortable living here, as some parts of the district are quite rough.

This somewhat deprived but increasingly mixed area also has cheaper property (and one of the loveliest parks). With property selling at an average price of around EUR 6,600 per square metre – and as low as EUR 3,000 per square metre in some parts – the bargain prices have recently attracted a youngish, cosmopolitan crowd here, so it's a vibrant place.

While there are over 3,500 agents immobilièrs (estate agents) in Paris, almost all of them operate completely independently without any co-operation (with the exception of a couple of companies like Orpi), and there are almost no multi-agent agreements. It's also been estimated that about half of all Parisian property is sold direct by the owners. So property hunting can be a bit of a nightmare, which is why many people choose to use property finders.

Property tends to move fast in Paris: sometimes a property is sold the same day it goes on the market. Once you find a place you like, you may have to act fast. So:

Do your research into the different arrondissements and know what the price per metre is for that area.

Make sure you know what you're after at the outset.

Remember that making an offer is legally binding (see our guide to buying property in France).

Have your finances sorted (get a French bank account).

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1 Comment To This Article

Misha posted:

I used the services of property finders. It was way easier to find, and cheaper.

I now live rue des Saint Dres! Thanks to the team! www.daudruy-associates.com

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