Overview
- Notaries put 2025 existing-home transactions around 945,000, roughly 12% above 2024, with major agency networks reporting double‑digit rebounds.
- Average mortgage rates eased to about 3.1% (roughly 3.25–3.5% across lenders), and national price gauges show only slight gains of about 1.4–1.8% per m².
- First‑time buyers regained ground—rising to 35% of Laforêt purchasers in 2025—helped by cheaper credit and record use of zero‑interest loans estimated at €12 billion.
- Investor pullback has strained rentals, with available listings in Paris still 30–40% below pre‑pandemic levels, according to industry barometers.
- Forecasts point to continued stabilization in 2026 with some projections near 980,000 sales, yet agents warn policy uncertainty—including an unfinished 2026 budget and debated landlord incentives returning to the Assembly on Jan. 8—could derail momentum; Century 21’s chief also criticized hardline local proposals targeting vacant homes.