Published every year since 2020, the real estate barometer* of cities belonging to the national “Action coeur de ville” ** program measures the evolution and dynamism of the real estate market in the 239 French territories which are the beneficiaries in 2023.
This represents 7.8 million inhabitants, or more than 11% of the French population. The towns of Voiron, Valence, Chambéry, Aubenas, Avignon, Carpentras, Belfort, Besançon, Colmar and Haguenau are among them.
A drop in transactions of -20%
According to the barometer, 12% of real estate sales were made in cities benefiting from the Action coeur de ville program.
Even if transactions there fell sharply in 2023 (-20%, or 122,770 sales), the result of an unfavorable economic context with a rapid deterioration in the volume of transactions in new and old properties, these cities are holding up a little better to the crisis compared to the national level where sales volumes decreased by -23%.
+ 5% of external buyers since 2018
Since 2018, the proportion of buyers coming from outside and buying in cities belonging to the program has increased from 54 to 59% in 2023, demonstrating their growing attractiveness.
These buyers tend to come from the surrounding areas of the town.
An increase in sales of housing classified A and B
In 2023, the proportion of sales of apartments classified A and B under the energy performance diagnosis (DPE) in these cities reaches 40%, compared to 24% in 2018.
The proportion of sales of houses classified A and B in 2023 is 26%, compared to 15% in 2018.
Sales prices that remain stable
Faced with the start of a drop in prices in 2023, the median prices of sales made in these cities have remained stable, or even increased, over the last two years.
Between 2022 and 2023, the price of apartments increased by +1.4%, or €1,927 per m² on average, while that of houses fell by -1.4% (€175,000 on average for a house) .
At the national level, the price of apartments did not increase and that of houses fell by -1.1% over this same period.
* Produced by the National Agency for Territorial Cohesion using data from the French Notaries real estate reference database
** Its objective: to improve the living conditions of residents of medium-sized towns and to reinforce the driving role of these towns in regional development
