Property prices have increased in over 80% of towns and cities in France in the last year but there is considerable regional variation, the latest figures show.
Prices in Bordeaux have increased the most, up by 7.1%, while Strasbourg and Toulouse have seen values rise by 4% and Nice by 3.9%, according to a study commissioned by French website seloger.
Prices are also up by 2.1% year on year in Montpellier, by 1.9% in Lyon and by 1.2% in Paris while in Marseille prices have not changes and they have fallen in Rennes, Grenoble and Besancon by between 3% and 5%.
It means Bordeaux is now France’s fourth most expensive city in which to buy property after Paris, Nice and Lyon. The average price of a property in Bordeaux is €3,571 per square metre which is higher than the average for the rest of the country €3,292.
Generally, however, the property market in France is seeing price increases throughout the country, according to According Michel Mouillart, professor of economics at the University of Paris-Ouest who carried out the research.
He explained that prices have been increasing since the beginning of the summer and he expects the current growth to continue.
Meanwhile the latest figures from the French department of the environment show that planning consents and new building starts increased by 18.7% in the second quarter of 2016 compared to the same quarter in 2015.
The number of properties being put up for sale is also rising, up 24.2% but fewer homes are being put on the market in Normandy and PACA in the south of the country.
But the department’s report points out that demand is still exceeding supply and more new homes need to be built as sales for detached homes are up by 26.8% and for apartments up by 18.1%.
