with an 8% drop in prices, the real estate market is regaining color

with an 8% drop in prices, the real estate market is regaining color
with an 8% drop in prices, the real estate market is regaining color

Prices falling, sales maintained at a low level, despite the drop in interest rates, the real estate market in is slowly recovering. A finding also visible in the rest of : in 2024, 780,000 transactions were carried out, half as many as the previous year.

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2024 will not be a good year for real estate. In the report from the National Chamber of Notaries published at the end of December, the national real estate market recorded a 17% drop in transactions compared to the previous year, or 780,000 sales.

In Gironde, this figure rises to 23% as in Dordogne and Lot-et-Garonne which also record more than 20%. The Landes and Pyrénées-Atlantiques are not spared either: sales have fallen between 15% and 20%. “The majority of sales currently are forced sales, linked to divorce or death”, explains Frédéric Lesvigne, president of the Gironde branch of the national real estate federation.

We found the 2015 volume.

Delphine Detrieux,

president of the chamber of notaries of Gironde

An observation also made by Delphine Detrieux, president of the Chamber of Notaries of Gironde. “The administration only allows six months to settle the inheritance. With the high prices in the urban area, heirs generally do not have the financial capacity to pay inheritance tax and are therefore forced to sell the deceased's home.”

In Gironde, sales fell by 23% in 2024.

© Superior Council of Notaries

In and its surrounding area, this gloomy context has even led to a drop in real estate prices. According to their report, the notaries even suggest a reduction of 7.5% for apartments, and up to 9% for houses. “It’s a price drop that began in 2023, advances Lionel Klotz, director of the Orpi group in Gironde. The reductions are more significant in central Bordeaux than in the outskirts where prices had increased more significantly.”

Areas far from the metropolis are also more affected, their attractiveness no longer being as important as before. “The Arcachon basin as well as the Médoc, however, have stagnant prices”specifies Delphine Detrieux, president of the Chamber of Notaries of Gironde.

There was indeed the LGV but we cannot say that the employment pool nor the salaries are very attractive.

Lionel Klotz,

President of the Orpi group in Aquitaine

Despite these declines, Bordeaux remains the 4th most expensive city in France, behind or . With an average of 4,250 euros per square meter, its price has increased by 39% in ten years.
These prices still have a major impact on the budget of buyers. According to the National Chamber of Notaries, a budget of 150,000 euros made it possible to acquire a two-room apartment in the metropolis of around 31 m² in 2024. A surface area reduced by 15 m² in ten years. “We are returning to normal, with prices gradually regulating themselves. The sellers understood that they could no longer claim exorbitant prices”illustrates Anthony Kevork, Human Immobilier communications director.


Bordeaux remains the 4th most expensive city in France.

© Superior Council of Notaries

At these high prices, rising interest rates have further restricted budgets. They increased from around 1% in the years 2020-2021 to almost 6% in 2023. “September 2022 was the peak of real estate activity in a very long time”says Frédéric Lesvigne.

Conversely, the last half of 2024 saw the real estate market shudder with the drop, to around 3.2%, in these rates. “Already in December, they were around 4% and we felt a return from customers who realize that ultimately these are not extremely high rates either”says Anthony Kevork.

However, the budget is not the only explanation for this gloomy year. Dissolution, Olympic Games, new government: political instability would have largely influenced customers, making them lose confidence in the future.

There have never been so few buyers since the Second World War.

Frédéric Lesvigne,

president of the FNAIM of Gironde

For this new year, industry players are hoping for a political boost to revive the real estate economy. “We are now waiting for the general policy speech to know what are the directions, the tax incentives that will be put in place. If there is none, it looks very complicated,” adds Delphine Detrieux.

The first signals of activity were also caused by the implementation, on January 1, of the ban on renting accommodation classified in category G. “We have seen studios being sold for 80,000 euros because the sellers know that future lessors will have to carry out significant work”, explains Lionel Klotz.

In central Bordeaux, where many buildings, complex to renovate, are described as “thermal sieves”, sales have also jumped during the last half of 2024. “There has been a real market for six months with landlords who do not have the financial capacity to take on the work, who mainly sell small spaces like one-bedroom apartments or studios”indicates Delphine Detrieux.


Since January 1, it has been prohibited to rent accommodation classified in category G.

© ST?PHANIE FOR / MAXPPP

However, for FNAIM, this law has direct repercussions on landlords. “There is a too rapid application of these measures which force owners to carry out major work which can neither have an impact on the sale of the property because the prices remain constrained, nor have an impact on the rents which benefit from a form of 'management”details Frédéric Lesvigne.

The policies are not at all encouraging to invest in real estate.

Frédéric Lesvigne,

President of the FNAIM of Gironde

The real estate agent even confides his concern about the future. If for a primary residence, banks will rather lend for housing with a good rating, they will favor lessors, a category that is still cautious, for housing with the lowest ratings. “For investors, banks see a double loan in the purchase of these homes with the real estate loan combined with a work loan”explains the president of the chamber of notaries of Gironde.

However, players in the sector prefer to describe the year 2024 as “an end to the crisis”. Motivated by the drop in interest rates or the price of property for sale, customers are indeed once again passing through the doors of real estate agencies. “The buyers are present, we had more and more visits at the end of 2024 and the trend seems to be confirmed for 2025. It’s encouraging,” positive Anthony Kevork.

Delphine Detrieux measures her optimism. “People have been starting to look at real estate again since September, but it's just the beginning. To restore their confidencee, we must establish incentive policies that push interest rates down.”

In their sights, first-time buyers, these new owners, generally around the age of thirty. “They have budgets that will be positioned on properties below 500,000 euros. And this demand seems to be starting again,” indicates Lionel Klotz, director of an Orpi agency in .

The banks have decided to reopen their doors to these profiles. “There is really a form of seduction on their part. These are profiles that also allow you to install new bank accounts”, explains the communications manager of Human Immobilier. If the attraction of these new owners is present, they still find it difficult to take the plunge, faced with general economic instability. Some, like Delphine Detrieux, fear creating “a generation of tenants”.

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