Paris property prices hit all time high

Britons wanting to live in Paris are now caught in a shocking rise in apartment prices, with a record €9.000 per square metre now considered the norm.

It’s believed that pre-Brexit demand for Paris apartments has played a large part in the dramatic increase, bringing the cost of a Paris pad to its highest ever level. It’s not just central properties which have seen the increases, as property in 12 other arrondissements is often fetching the same amount per square metre and prices all across the rest of the capital have increased by eight per cent. The trend is expected to continue due to the massive number of buyers looking to invest in Paris properties.

Paris's soaring prices aren't mirrored by an increase in property prices in the rest of France, with prices actually falling in several regions. Demand in the capital is now outstripping supply, especially in the most fashionable districts. Italian buyers are snapping up 17 per cent of all apartments sold to non-French purchasers, with British buyers coming a close second at 10 per cent. Another possible reason for the sudden increase in numbers of foreign buyers is the city’s hosting of the Olympics in 2024.

An example of what Parisian estate agents are calling ‘property madness’ is an advertisement offering a loft apartment in the expensive, chic district of Ile Saint-Louis in the heart of the city. The asking price is €50,000, but the elephant in the room is the size of the loft – just three metres square! Also, potential purchasers are being advised a makeover is needed, and there isn’t even a view as it’s located on the ground floor. Set overlooking a 17th century courtyard and with a tiny single window, the loft’s one advantage might be its four metres’ height.

Amazingly, it’s not the only property of this type to be recently advertised, with several other ‘micro-rooms’ also up for sale at crazy money. One five metre-squared example is priced at €35,000, and another located on the fifth floor of a building without a lift measures exactly 4.21 square metres and costs €37,000.