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Anger at €945,000 price tag for 30 square metre Paris studio

A Paris studio apartment just 30 square metres has been put up for sale for close to €1 million, in the latest example of the capital's out-of-control property prices.

Published: 21 February 2020 09:00 CET
Anger at €945,000 price tag for 30 square metre Paris studio
The apartment has a view of the Eiffel Tower. Photo: AFP

The Paris property market is well known for being one of the priciest in the world, with the average price per square metre now over €10,000.

The combination of limited space, limited housing and very high demand has pushed prices in the French capital sky high, with prices rising by 62.5 percent over the past 10 years.

But even within this context, the advert for a 30 square metre studio apartment for €945,000 – or €30,000 per square metre – sparked derision and anger.

READ ALSO Almost half of all property rental adverts in Paris are illegal

The apartment, which sits in a prime location in the 7th arrondissement on the Champs de Mars, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, was first advertised on popular selling site Leboncoin.

Pictures showed a one-room apartment with a bookcase used to separate the bed from the living space, up for sale for €945,000.

However the advert has now been removed after the seller says he was deluged with insults and hate mail.

Philippe Lederman, the owner of the Saint Ferdinand Immobilier real estate agency which had advertised the apartment, told French newspaper Le Parisien that he had been shocked by the reaction.

He said: “I've been getting insults, hate mail, people saying to me: 'Aren't you ashamed to sell at that price?”

He said that the price had been set by the owner but added: “In this area, which is very touristy, real estate agencies mainly have foreign clients looking for a pied-à-terre with an unobstructed view of the capital's symbol, the Eiffel Tower.”

According to Meilleurs agents, who specialise in online property valuation, an average apartment in Paris is currently trading at around €10,276 euros per square metre.
 
But in some areas prices are much higher – with properties in Odéon, Saint-Germain-des-Prés or the Champs-Elysées going for €15,000 per square metre. 
 
The most expensive street in Paris is currently listed as Avenue Montaigne in the 8th arrondissement, where apartments sell for more than €22,500 per square meter. 
 
Prices drop off sharply once you venture outside the Paris ringroad to the suburbs.
 
 
 

 

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PROPERTY

Property taxes: How much will it cost to extend your French home?

Installing a swimming pool, building a garden shed, or adding a conservatory to your French home has become more expensive in 2023.

Published: 11 January 2023 15:49 CET
Property taxes: How much will it cost to extend your French home?

If you are planning a renovation project in 2023 you’re likely looking at rising cost for materials and labour due to inflation – but there is one other cost to consider; taxes. 

In France there is a one-off tax that has to be paid on certain building works, and the government has raised the rate for this.

The taxe d’aménagement, sometimes referred to as the garden shed tax, applies to all property development – construction, reconstruction and extension – of buildings that require planning permission or a building permit.

Garden sheds, swimming pools or extensions with a surface area of more than 5 square metres are subject to the development tax – although a 50 percent reduction is applied to the flat-rate values of certain buildings, particularly the first 100 square metres of main residences.

READ ALSO Everything you need to know about installing a swimming pool at your French property

The tax is collected by local councils, who set their own percentage rates for the tax, working off the base rate set by the government.

A decree published in the Journal Officiel set the base figures for 2023 at the following rates: 

  • €1,004 per square metre in Île-de-France (up from €929 per square metre in 2022);
  • €886 per square metre outside Île-de-France (€820 per square metre in 2022).

The flat-rate values per square metre of building space, which constitute the basis for the development tax, are revised on January 1st of each year according to the latest construction cost index published by national statistics body Insee. 

Additionally, specific rates are set for:

  • €250 per square metre  for a swimming pool (up from €200 in 2022);
  • €12 per square metre of ground-fixed solar panels (up from €10 in 2022);
  • €3,000 per wind turbine more than 12 metres high;
  • €3,000 per pitch for tents, caravans and mobile leisure homes;
  • €10,000 per pitch for a holiday chalet or bungalow.

The amount of the tax is calculated according to the following formula: 

(Taxable area multiplied by the government-set base figure) multiplied by the percentage tax rate set by the local authorities. This gives the total to be paid in cents. Bills are rounded down.

So, the tax for a 30 square metre extension in an area where the combined local and departmental tax rates total 6.25 percent would be calculated like this:

30 (the size of the development) x 886 (the base tax rate outside Ile-de-France) = 26,580

6.25 (local and departmental tax) x 26,580 = 166,125 cents, more usually expressed as €1,661. 

If the total payable is less than €1,500, you will receive a bill in the six months after planning permission was granted, with details of how to pay.

Otherwise, it is paid in two instalments, 12 months and 24 months after authorisation, with a 10 percent surcharge applied in cases of late payments.

READ ALSO The hidden costs of owning property in France

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