France's market found its buyers again — 958,000 sales in a year — but prices barely moved. The notaires call it "a recovery without excess." For a buyer, that means choice without a bidding war. Here are the official numbers.
Figures verified 8 July 2026The reference measure is the Notaires-INSEE index of existing-home prices, built from actual notarised sales. Latest reading, Q1 2026 (provisional, published 28 May 2026):
| Indicator | Q1 2026 |
|---|---|
| Prices, France, year on year | +0.1% (quasi-stable, after +1.0% in Q4 2025) |
| Prices, quarter on quarter | +0.2% |
| Apartments, y/y | +0.6% |
| Houses, y/y | −0.2% |
| Île-de-France, y/y | +0.6% (third consecutive quarterly rise) |
| Province (outside Île-de-France), y/y | ~0% (apartments +0.3%, houses −0.1%) |
| Transactions, 12 months to end-March 2026 | 952,000 |
Notaires de France count 958,000 sales in the 12 months to end-February 2026, up 11% year on year. Their forward look from pre-sale contracts (avant-contrats) points to prices around −0.2% year on year by end-May 2026 — continued stability, not a new boom.
Paris and Île-de-France come from the notaires' own transaction database — official sold prices. Everything else is a MeilleursAgents portal estimate (net of agency and notary fees), updated monthly. Treat portal figures as indicative, not gospel.
| Area | Apartments €/m² | ≈ USD/m²* | Houses €/m² | Figure type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paris (3 months to Feb 2026) | €9,580 | $11,210 | — | OFFICIAL — Notaires du Grand Paris, sold prices |
| Île-de-France (3 months to Feb 2026) | €6,160 | $7,210 | — | OFFICIAL — Notaires du Grand Paris |
| Nice | €5,216 | $6,100 | €6,388 | ESTIMATE — MeilleursAgents, Jun 2026 |
| Aix-en-Provence | €5,329 | $6,230 | €6,484 | ESTIMATE — MeilleursAgents, Apr 2026 |
| Lyon | €4,673 | $5,470 | €5,649 | ESTIMATE — MeilleursAgents, Jun 2026 |
| Bordeaux | €4,371 | $5,110 | €4,916 | ESTIMATE — MeilleursAgents, May 2026 |
| Rennes | €3,912 | $4,580 | €4,994 | ESTIMATE — MeilleursAgents, May 2026 |
| Toulouse | €3,499 | $4,090 | €4,016 | ESTIMATE — MeilleursAgents, May 2026 |
| Montpellier | €3,325 | $3,890 | €4,176 | ESTIMATE — MeilleursAgents, May 2026 |
| Caen | €3,002 | $3,510 | €3,828 | ESTIMATE — MeilleursAgents, May 2026 |
| Rouen | €2,516 | $2,940 | €2,901 | ESTIMATE — MeilleursAgents, Jun 2026 |
| Périgueux (Dordogne) | €1,948 | $2,280 | €2,147 | ESTIMATE — MeilleursAgents, Jul 2026 |
| Dordogne (whole department, incl. rural) | €1,704 | $1,990 | €1,857 | ESTIMATE — MeilleursAgents, May 2026 |
*USD column converts the apartment figure at €1 = $1.17 (8 July 2026). MeilleursAgents figures are transaction-informed estimates expressed net vendeur (net of agency/notary fees), not official notaire data.
The spread is the story: a Dordogne house averages under €2,000/m² department-wide (with a very wide range — roughly €770 to €3,440/m² across the department), while Paris apartments sell at €9,580/m². Momentum over the past year: Rennes and Caen apartments +3.4%, Périgueux +3.6%; Bordeaux −1.6%, Montpellier −1.0%.
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