After a slight easing of credit rates beneficial to buyers, the decline in prices that began in 2022 is slowing down. For the old real estate sector, the worst seems to be over.
After weeks marked by the triple seal of Olympic euphoria, summer lethargy and concern over the lack of government visibility, the existing real estate market is looking for a new lease of life. A bright spot has come from the fuel of mortgage credit. According to data from the Crédit Logement/CSA Observatory, the average rate, excluding insurance and all loan terms combined, fell back to 3.62% in August, after peaking at 4.21% in November 2023 (compared to a low of 1.03% in October 2021).
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Banks are continuing their efforts to attract new customers, with rate scales “down by 0.15 to 0.3 points,” says Ludovic Huzieux, co-founder of Artémis Courtage. Banking institutions are anticipating the announcements of the European Central Bank [BCE]which is expected to make a further rate cut on September 12.” Rates have already fallen by 25 basis points in June, after a cycle of ten increases aimed at curbing inflation.
“We anticipate 771,000 transactions for 2024”
In addition, potential buyers have benefited from two incentive factors: the fall in housing prices, which began in early 2022, and the rise in income, in the wake of inflation. As a result, “it seems that the worst is behind us, both in terms of activity and prices,” says Thomas Lefebvre, scientific vice-president of SeLoger-MeilleursAgents.
He also notes a slowdown in the decline in prices. The annual rate of decline was, at its highest, -3% in April in France, compared to -1.3% on 1is September; -3.5% in the ten largest cities in April, compared to -1.9% in September; and -7.7% in Paris (at 9,293 euros per m²) in April, compared to -4.8% in September.
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- challenges.fr
