After two years of steadily rising prices across France, the property market is starting to change. Three of France’s 10 largest cities saw falling house prices in October, rising to six in November, and – as of now – the property market is dipping in eight of the biggest conurbations in the country.

Only Lille and Marseille continue to show slight increases in property prices, respectively of 0.7 percent in Lille (to €3,567 per square metre) and 0.8% in Marseille (€3,868 per square metre) in the past month.

On average, France’s 10 biggest cities saw a 0.1 percent fall in property prices in the last month – not a large fall, but an indicative one, according to the experts. Over the past three months, property prices have gone down in 18 of France’s 35 largest towns and cities.

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We are entering a new cycle,” Thomas Lefebvre, of online property agent Meilleurs Agents, told Le Parisien. “We are not experiencing a correction, nor a stall in terms of prices, but rather a downward cycle that is spreading to all of France’s major cities.” 

While the winter period traditionally sees a slowdown in sales, rising interest rates are also preventing property hunters from putting in offers, Lefebvre added, with renters now waiting eight years on average to take the plunge into property ownership, compared to four years as recently as 2020.

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Increased inflation and soaring energy prices are also having an impact, leading to what Lefebvre described as a “market freeze”, with fewer buyers and sellers still reluctant to accept lower offers.

As a result, the number of sales agreements has dipped between nine and 10 percent on an out-of-the-ordinary 2021 property market, according to the Orpi property cooperative.

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The length of time it takes for a Parisian property to be sold has jumped five days to an average of 68 days, in 2022, while the average price per square metre in the capital has dropped 1.3 percent to €10,312 on average – a figure inflated by high-end properties.

While 60 percent of property sales in Paris are still above €10,000 per square metre, at the lower end of the market prices have dipped below the threshold for the first time in several years.

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Bordeaux, meanwhile, has seen property prices drop 3.1 percent in 2022, and 2.4 percent in the past three months alone; while prices have fallen 3.4 percent in Mulhouse in the last three months after jumping 2.6 percent earlier in the year, and have dropped 3.1 percent in Nîmes and Rouen.

But, although prices are starting to fall in larger cities, the opposite is true in satellite towns where transportation is good, as buyers start to look further afield.

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In Chambéry, between Grenoble, Annecy and Lyon, the Laforêt Immobilier group has recorded an increase of more than 50% in its sales – it’s location is ideal for all cities, while the rise of remote working allows for the possibility of just one or two commutes per week.

Here are average property price changes the 20 biggest towns and cities in France: