How Much Does a House Cost in France? [2023] | expatrist.com (2024)

The property market in France offers many opportunities for buyers, from luxury villas to ski chalets and city apartments. Whenever people hunt for property to buy in France, they’re always amazed by the affordable prices compared to other European countries. The property market in Frances is attractive for anyone looking to buy a house for residential or commercial purposes. However, many hidden costs add to these fair prices.

When buying a home in France in 2023, you pay between €1,050 to €2,800 per square meter. An apartment costs between €1,680 to €8,580. Paris records the highest house prices at €10,500/m². Saint-Étienne and Mulhouse are some of the cheapest areas to buy, where houses cost €900 and €1,060/m², respectively.

Although the house prices in France are relatively low, it all boils down to which side of the country you are buying and the size of the property. Rural France offers the most affordable house prices because the demand for housing in such areas is deficient.

Related: How much does rent cost in France?

What is the average house price in France in 2023?

The average price in France is€2,260 per square meter. The cost of an apartment is €2,260 on average.

The average house price in France in 2023 depends on the region and type of house. The costs are higher in major cities like Paris, Bordeaux, and Lyon than in the suburbs and rural areas.

For example, homes within and outside the city center cost €13,000 and €9,000 per square meter. In Marseille, this amounts to an average of €3,200.

Moving into the suburbs, houses sell for an average of €1,000/m² outside the city center. These average house costs has increased by 3.5% in 2022.

House prices in Bordeaux have risen by over 48% in the last decade. Toulouse and Montpellier have recorded 14% and 4% over the same period. On the other hand, house prices in Brest and Rouen have dropped by 12% and 5%, respectively.

According to the Median, an average apartment in France costs €237,667. It ranges between €96,300 and €613,000. The average price of different apartment sizes is as shown below:

The average house prices in the different French departments:

The average house price per municipality in France is‌:

Below are the average costs of buying a ski chalet in French ski resorts:

1. Avoriaz – €6348
2. Chamonix – €8,759
3. Megeve – €8,213
4. Courchevel – €7,790
5. Serre Chevalier -€3,957

Average house prices in France

The average house prices in France are higher in the largest cities. This high cost results from many people choosing to live in the urban areas, plus the influx of foreigners in some locations. These all drive the demand for houses.

In Paris, the average house price is €1,348,500. Most homes cost between €245,000 and €4,776,000 in the capital. The average price per square meter is about €10,395.

The average cost of an apartment in France is €575,000. Most apartments range between an average of€230,000 and €1,470,000. For square meter apartments, the average price is €11,378. These are the average prices of various apartment sizes in Paris:

As you can see, you need to make a lot of money or have a large amount in savings to buy an apartment in the French capital.

In Marseille, the average price for houses is €647,000. These houses cost between €234,700 and €1,288,800. The average price per square meter is €3,165.

According to the Median, apartments in Marseille cost an average of €218,150. The prices fall between €99,000 and €490,000. Square meter apartments cost an average of €3,444 per square meter. The average costs of different flats in Marseille are‌:

The following is a depiction of the average cost per meter square of commercial houses in Marseille for the different districts:

1. 1st arrondissem*nt: €2,876
2. 6th arrondissem*nt: €3,682
3. 7th arrondissem*nt: €5,029
4. 8th arrondissem*nt: €4,649
5. 12th arrondissem*nt: €3,908
6. 9th arrondissem*nt: €3,714
7. 11th arrondissem*nt: €3,598
8. 16th arrondissem*nt: €3,246
9. 2nd arrondissem*nt: €3,246
10. 13th arrondissem*nt: €3,222
11. 5th arrondissem*nt: €3,156
12. 10th arrondissem*nt: €2,984

An average house in Lyon will cost you about €734,000. Most homes cost between €370,000 and €1,495,000, with three-bedroom houses coming to €250,000 on average.

Apartments in Lyon cost €360,000 on average. The average cost of apartments is between €175,000 and €699,000. Below is the average price of various apartment sizes in Lyon:

In Bordeaux, the average price per square meter is €5,395. Houses cost an average of €6,826. An apartment in the city center costs €4,632/m² and €3,500/m².

How much does it cost to buy a house in France?

The cost of buying a home in France comes with additional expenses buyers need to be aware of, e.g., estate agency and legal fees.

On average, a buyer’s total fees when buying a house range between 2% to 20% of the property value. Typically, one is likely to pay 7% to 10%.

If the house is less than 5 years old, the average total fee ranges between 2% to 3% of the house value.

In France, real estate fees vary depending on:

1. The property’s age

Although buying a new house is expensive, it comes with less tax. The VAT rate on the acquisition of old property is 19.6%, while that of new homes is 5.5%.

If a house is under five years old, the stamp duty fee is 0.7% of the property value. For homes older than five years, the stamp duty is 5.80%.

2. How much land the house occupies

If a buyer is buying property occupying over one hectare, they pay a Safer fee to the Safer Agricultural Organization of about €1,000.

3. The people involved in the buying process

Where a buyer uses an agent, the agency fee ranges between 5% to 10% of the house value, with the most typical cost being 10%. A buyer is expected to pay a Notaires’ Conveyancing Fees when an agent isn’t used.

Here, the calculation is on a sliding scale. The higher the cost of a house, the lower the Notaires’ fee. These are the percentage of Notaires’ fees for the different house values:

• €0 to €6,500: 3.945%
• €6,501 – €17,000: 1.627%
• €17,001 – €60,000: 0.085%
• Above €60,001: 0.814%

In case a buyer requires structural surveying, they individually pay for the service. The cost of conducting structural surveys varies depending on the size of the property, and it ranges between €200 and €1,500.

There are other fees that buyers pay to the Notaire but don’t actually go to the Notaire. They include a land registry fee of 0.1% and disbursem*nt charges.

If a seller chooses a different Notaire, the buyer still pays the fee for both of them. However, the seller and the buyer split the expense and work in this case.

If buying a house for residential purposes, they pay two taxes: land and local. These are recurring payments ‌one pays every 1st of January each year.

Cost of building a house in France

In 2017, the average cost for a self-built house in France was €294,110. According to Statista, in 2019, building costs in Paris were as follows:

• Apartments high-rise – €2,074/m²
• Apartments low-rise – €1,616/m²
• Detached houses – €2,074/m²
• Townhouses – €1,303/m²
• Terrace style houses – €1,301/m²

The final cost of building a house in France varies depending on the following factors:

Location

Labor costs for building a house in remote areas are higher because of the cost of transporting building materials.

In the average area of France, building costs range between €500 to €1,500 per square meter. Building a house in France is €176,000, excluding land. In Ile-de-France, it costs €204,500.

Size of the house

The cost of building a square meter house is between €1,300 and €1,500. For a bigger family, a home with two to three bedrooms will cost about €270,637. Moreover, it costs €50,000 to build a house using straw, including land costs.

Quality of building materials and budget

If you use average building materials, the cost of building ranges between €500 to €1,500 per square meter on a low budget. The same can cost about €1,850 per square meter using high-quality building materials with a reasonable budget.

Type of building materials

According to a new law, all French houses use 50% wood in building. A family house with four bedrooms and 140 m² in living space, which was built using 100% wood, costs about €500,000.

Whether you’re using a builder

Suppose one builds with the help of a builder; they will make milestone payments‌ as follows:

• At the start of the work- 15%
• After the foundation – 25%
• After the walls are up – 40%
• When the house is watertight – 60%
• After completion of internal walls – 75%
• After installation of plumbing, electricity, and windows -95%
• Handover stage -5%

The average rate French builders charge was €1,200 to €1,700 per square meterin 2018. So for 100 m², you pay at least €120,000, plus additional costs.

If building without using contractors, €115,000 is enough budget for a 100 m² home. Subcontractors are included in this price.

Using a builder is more expensive, and one can save about 30% to 60% on labor and building materials when building on their own. Although cheaper, building without a builder takes longer, it’s stressful, and it lacks the use of skilled personnel necessary for electrical installation.

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