It is a new scourge which Paris City Hall has decided to tackle: second homes, the number of which continues to increase year after year in the capital. Thus, if the latter only represented 2% of housing at the end of the 1960stheir proportion increased to more than 10% in 2020. At the beginning of September, there were so many 138 000 in Paris. A figure which questions, and above all forces us to review our image of pretty holiday homes in Provence or Brittany. But then who buys a resort? Why is this a problem, and what are the solutions? We’ll explain it to you.
An increasingly high rate
It is an alarming finding than that drawn up by Jacques Baudrier, deputy to Paris City Hall for housing. According to him, between vacant housing and second homesthe capital has to this day 260,000 under-occupied homes. A very (too) important figure, which partly explains the big problems what most people encounter when finding an apartment. And unfortunately this figure is only increasing.
But then, faced with the price of real estate in Paris, it’s impossible not to wonder who are the people able to afford housing that they don’t even use. The answer is simple: the oldest. According to INSEE data, 64% of these owners are over 60 years oldwhile on the Parisian average, main housing included, this figure drops to 45%. Almost half of them are originating from Île-de-France, if not from Paris itself.
An urgent response needed
And among the occupied properties, we find everything, but not necessarily everywhere. More than half of Parisian second homes measure less than 40 m² (and are often rented at unreasonable prices), but we still find some accommodations of more than 100 m²particularly in the 7th, 8th and 16th. Because yes, having a second home in Paris is good, but if it is in nice neighborhoods, it’s better. And it is the 6th which holds the palm, with more than 20% of pied-à-terre on its territory.
But then how to stem this situationand thus make it possible to put back on the market more than 100,000 properties, desperately needed for the development of the capital? It’s very simple, in increasing housing taxes. Although these were removed for main homes in 2022, they still exist for secondary schools, taxed at 60%. A number that Jacques Baudrier hopes to increase to 300%the only way according to him to really make things happen. For now, however, we will still have to be patient, because only Parliament can decide to increase this taxand he doesn’t return until tomorrow, October 1st (luck)!
