Where is Nicolas Sarkozy’s “France of homeowners”? Are we heading for a France of tenants? We’re slowly but surely getting closer. The homeowner rate (57.2% according to Insee, one of the lowest in the European Union) is still slightly in the majority, but it has been steadily declining for the past ten years. As a result, the proportion of renters (over 40%) has been increasing. “This new trend reveals not a preference on the part of the French to be or remain tenants, but rather an inability to become homeowners.“deciphers Robin Rivatonessayist and recognized real estate specialist.

With the fall in lending rates and prices, the purchasing power of the French has increased again over the past year. But households have only recouped a third of the loss of purchasing power suffered after interest rates soared in early 2022. The critical situation for new housing is also preventing the French from realizing their dream of buying a house with a garden. Consequence: households wishing to become homeowners are condemned to remain tenants. Much to the chagrin of young people, whose waiting lists for rental accommodation are exploding.

Not everyone in France has the means to become a homeowner. “Ownership has its virtues, but it can also be a trap, especially for those who don’t maintain their home, which loses value as a result.“Xavier Lièvre, a Parisian notary and chairman of the “Favoriser l’accès au logement” commission. “More and more households will have to give up the classic residential route (tenant then homeowner) and risk retiring with no assetsretorts Robin Rivaton. For 20 years, these retirees will be paying high rents and receiving much reduced incomes.“

This is how 75% of French people want to buy their own home. The desire is still there, despite the housing crisis, but the means are not always there. And this is reflected in the very low rates of home ownership. This is true not only of Paris, but also of the nine other major cities. None of them has a homeownership rate higher than the national average. Strasbourg and Lille have the lowest, at between 27% and 28%, according to the latest study published by Insee (2020 figures). Nice and Marseille have the highest: 47% for the former and 43% for the latter.

Fortunately, prices have been falling in France’s 10 largest cities over the past year. But not enough to compensate for the sharp rise in lending rates. Declines have been limited to a range of between -3% and -9% over the last 12 months, according to the Fédération nationale de l’immobilier (Fnaim) (see below). Nice is the only city in the top 10 where prices have not fallen in a year. Worse still, in recent months, this decline has already tended to melt away like snow in the sun. So much so, that in Lyon they are levelling off, or rising again, as in Lille.

Elsewhere, particularly in medium-sized towns, real estate costs less, between 1,000 and 3,000 euros per m². But, according to the Fnaim, prices have already started to rise again. This is the case in Quimper (+12.6% in 3 months!), Saint-Nazaire (+6.7%) and La Roche-sur-Yon (+1.9%). Where the homeowner rate ranges between 48% and 55%. “Outside the big cities, renting at 35 is seen as a failure!“concludes Corinne Jolly, President of PAP.