Finding a rental in this city, the mission always proves more difficult

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Virgil is 18 years old. He arrives in L'Aigle (Orne) for training. It is “a little late” to have a wide choice of rental apartments in city ​​center. There are few properties left available. This small two-room apartment costs €430 excluding charges. Virgil's parents have no choice. They will pay.

A price like in Caen

“As soon as an apartment is offered for rental, candidates rush in,” notes one real estate agent. Despite the high rents for a city like L'Aigle.

A “studio” or two-room apartment regularly rents for around €450. Excluding charges. A price equivalent to or slightly higher than what you can find in Caen, to cite just one example. So we wanted to know why rents were so high at L'Aigle.

An offer under pressure

To explain the phenomenon, we must return two years ago. You have to understand that, in real estate, every action has cascading consequences. Over the past two years, things have changed on the rental market in L'Aigle. With Covid, Parisians bought houses in Normandy.

The east of the department was very affected by this phenomenon. With a fairly high purchasing power, these newcomers caused house prices to rise. This has reduced the number of homes available for purchase.

Added to these high prices was the rise in interest rates for real estate loans. Families who wanted to buy a house therefore had more difficulty obtaining the funding for their projects.

A “shuttle” time in the realm of possibility

Delayed purchasing projects mean so many families who are turning, while waiting for a drop in prices, to rental. Even if property prices start to fall again. This tendency has not yet been reflected in rental prices.

The Eagle is directly concerned. Since Paris is 1h30 away by train. Today is a time of “shuttle” of the order of possibility. In a real estate agency, the manager notes, “for houses, I have 30 or 40 requests per offer. » These are as many potential buyers who have to wait, in rental, before being able to buy.

An old property that is expensive to renovate

Another real estate agent specifies, “there are tensions on the rental market for several years. There are more demands than offers. In addition, with energy regulations, there are homes that can no longer be rented.”

Today everyone knows the DPE (energy performance diagnosis), indicated by the letters from A to G. Insulation and renovation apartments have increased by 30 to 50% depending on the nature of the work.

Few landlords therefore embark on home improvement work because they know that they will no longer be able to cover the expense with rent. “An apartment that could be renovated for €40,000, today it costs €70,000,” explains a lessor on L'Aigle.

For the same project, it costs 30% more

In 2025 it will simply be forbidden to rent accommodation diagnosed as “G”. (Energy consumption greater than 420kWh.m² per year). Accommodations rated “F” are already considered “ with excessive energy consumption “. Insulation and upgrading work is too expensive. This, despite the renovation aid. As a result, it is estimated that several hundred homes are left vacancies at The Eagle.

“Between 2013 and 2015, buildings were sold as commercial ground floors with apartments upstairs. There was money for rental development. Today, the same project costs 30% more”

Several “programs” of “ urban renovation », or “small town plans of tomorrow” have tried to reverse the trend. But even the measures which allow rental income to be tax exempt provided that a rent ceiling is respected have not made it possible toreverse the trendold real estate is very expensive to renovate while respecting standards. Accommodation will continue to be expensive in L'Aigle.

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