fewer sales, and prices falling further in Franche-Comté

After two years of crisis, the situation seems to be clearing up for buyers. Franche-Comté is the most attractive region on the real estate market, with affordable prices, particularly in old properties.

The real estate market in Franche-Comté, which brings together the departments of Doubs, Jura, Haute-Saône and Territoire de Belfort, is marked by contrasting developments in 2024. In a context of rising interest rates and economic uncertainties, Franche-Comté nevertheless retains an attractiveness linked to its affordable prices, particularly on the old property market.

For the second year in a row, transaction volumes are decreasing in all departments of Franche-Comté. “We are in a real estate crisis situation. We are reaching levels in terms of transaction volumes, not reached for a long time, with prices falling and with a new situation which is alarming.”, specifies Me Jean-Fabien Mogé, president of the Interdepartmental Chamber of Notaries of Franche-Comté. The cause was a significant rise in prices which resulted in a historically brutal rise in interest rates, which blocked the granting of credit to buyers.

This trend, which began in 2023, will continue in 2024 with drops in property sales of between -9% in Haute-Saône and the Territoire de Belfort, and -14% in Doubs and Jura. However, these reductions remain less significant than those recorded the previous year, which varied between -17% and -20%.

At the national level, the assessment drawn up by the Notaries of France is just as gloomy for the year 2024. The total volume of housing sales fell by -17% over one year, with only 780,000 transactions recorded. This survey reveals that housing prices continue to fall in the majority of large cities. Which then makes it possible to acquire a slightly more spacious property for monthly payments equivalent to those before.

But Franche-Comté stands out as one of the most accessible regions of mainland France with a median price of old houses at 140,000 euros and a price per square meter of old apartments at 1,730 euros. However, these figures mask significant disparities between departments. Prices of individual houses range between 118,000 euros in Haute-Saône and 197,300 euros in Doubs. For old apartments, prices vary from 930 euros per square meter in Haute-Saône to 1,910 euros in Doubs.

The decline in real estate sales volumes is accompanied by a general decrease in prices over one year for most real estate, reflecting a rebalancing of the market after several years of increases. “We are about to restart the marketsays Me Mogé. The crisis has been going on for two years, and the restart has finally arrived, with a drop in prices, plus the fact that banks are lending again and interest rates continue to fall. Today, there is a revival in real estate, which we hope will be confirmed.” He explains that for two years, there has been a slowdown in investment, with prices remaining stuck and transactions stopping. “At some point, owners need to sell and therefore lower the price of their property, sometimes even below its value.”

However, he has reservations about new housing and hopes for incentive measures for access to new housing.

For old apartments, the price per square meter fell by -4.2% in Doubs, reaching 1,910 euros, and by -7.2% in Haute-Saône, to stand at 930 euros. In the Territoire de Belfort, after a drop of -4.2% in 2023, prices fell further by -2.0% to reach 1,180 euros per square meter. Old houses present contrasting price trends depending on the departments.

Doubs and Territoire de Belfort recorded significant decreases of -6.0% and -8.2% respectively, while Haute-Saône showed a slight increase of +1.3%. Over ten years, the increases are moderate and less than +2% per year on average. “Borrowing capacities have clearly improved, so we can hope that the existing market will be revitalized.”, confides Mr Mogé.

According to him, there is an explanation why Haute-Saône is the only department which is experiencing a slight increase. He believes that high-value properties, whose prices were very high, suffered a significant drop, with owners forced to sell their property. Where, in Haute-Saône, the prices of goods remain moderate, and do not need to be seen downward.

In Doubs, the price of apartments in Besançon varies between 1,640 euros per square meter in the Vaites-Clairs Soleils district and 2,310 euros in the city center.

Municipalities on the outskirts, such as Grand-Charmont, offer more accessible prices starting at 850 euros per square meter. Old houses experienced a decrease of -6.0%, with a median price of 197,300 euros. Building land, although down -1.6%, remains stable in the medium term with a median price of 65,000 euros.

In the Jura, old houses display contrasting developments. If prices increase in Foucherans (+7%) and Champagnole (+14.7%), other municipalities such as Lons-le-Saunier record a drop of -4%. The median price of apartments is 1,440 euros per square meter, down -2.0%, with significant declines in the Saint-Claude district, where the fall reached -16.8%.

In Haute-Saône, the price of old houses increased slightly by +1.3%, reaching 118,000 euros. Old apartments recorded a notable drop of -7.2%, with a price per square meter of 930 euros. Building land, although in the minority, shows overall stability at a median price of 33,500 euros.

In the Territoire de Belfort, nearly 70% of transactions concern the town of Belfort, where apartment prices range between 620 euros per square meter in the south and 1,330 euros in the east. Old houses experienced a general decline of -8.2%, with a median price of 167,300 euros.