Immobilier 2022: Who benefits from the health crisis?
Arriving in France at the end of January 2020, COVID-19 triggered an unprecedented health crisis. Hardly hit at first, the economy seems to be getting off to a new start. If it has overcome the crisis well, old real estate is not immune to a redistribution of the cards. So, who benefits from the health crisis? Reference real estate agency on the Côte Vermeille , Paradise Real Estate explains how it has rebalanced demand.
COVID-19 winning sector: medium-sized cities and the countryside
The health crisis has had little impact on the old real estate market. According to figures from the FNAIM, with 1,200,000 transactions , this reached a historic level in 2021, after a very good year in 2020 (1,067,000 transactions) (1) . However, this overall figure hides a large disparity between:
- the big cities on one side;
- medium-sized towns and rural communities on the other.
The FNAIM notes a change in the expectations of buyers . Determined to stem the progression of the pandemic, the three confinements were particularly difficult for city dwellers. Many now prefer a more spacious and green living environment . The health crisis has brought about a rebalancing of attractiveness between large cities and medium-sized cities. Prices are stagnating in the big cities… and jumping in the countryside!
The phenomenon is driven by the democratization of telework . By imposing the latter on companies, the health crisis has enabled employees to appreciate the advantages. They no longer see the home-office journey as an obstacle to their dream of a green life. Many executives leave the city to settle in the countryside.
Winning product of COVID-19: the single-family home
The confinement has placed the individual house at the center of current aspirations. The urban exodus often boils down to the desire to leave an apartment for a house. From the spring of 2020, the reference real estate portal SeLoger.com recorded an explosion in the rate of consultation of house advertisements for sale (2) .
Still according to the FNAIM:
- the price per m² of houses before the crisis increased by + 6.1% (it has increased by +13% since May 2020);
- the price of apartments has risen from +8.6% (before the health crisis) to +9.3% since.
Buying a home in a medium-sized town or rural community is a real life project, and is made all the easier by the fact that it can be easily financed by the sale of an apartment. sale of an apartment in a large city.
According to SeLoger figures, the average price of an apartment in France is €4,337/m² , compared with just €2,247(3) for a house in Collioure !
Box: Pay attention to energy prices and interest rates.
The countryside and the individual house stand out as the big winners of the health crisis. However, energy costs and mortgage interest rates will be monitored. The evolution of these two important budgetary parameters determines the timing of this rebalancing of demand.
Among the many consequences of the health crisis, the return to grace of small towns and the countryside is not the least. Always attached to a life project, the real estate trend imposes itself as an indicator of the aspirations of the moment. The trend is green! Good news for the Pyrénées-Orientales, rich in their landscapes and their art of living.