The Paris prime residential market has been one of the stronger performers globally in recent years. Limited supply, rising domestic and international demand, coupled with low interest rates drove prices to record highs following years of underperformance. The mainstream market has also performed well, with average prices increasing 35% in the past five years. In 2020, Paris’s prime market continued to show resilience, maintaining positive growth at a time when many other world cities saw price falls.

Now in 2021, there are signs that the impact of the pandemic is starting to be felt in the wider market. Mainstream prices began to soften towards the end of 2020. Ongoing uncertainty around the shape of economic recovery, coupled with continued restrictions on international travel, mean the outlook for the coming year is weaker than in previous years.

In the longer term, however, the outlook remains robust. As interest rates look likely to remain low, as they have been for several years, prime Paris property is especially attractive as a safe long-term store of wealth. The pandemic has caused many to re-evaluate their property needs and, as in many cities around the world, this too is playing out in the Paris market. The search for more space, coupled with investment into transport infrastructure has boosted activity in Paris’s outer arrondissements and suburbs.

Central Paris, nevertheless, has enduring appeal. The market for 2–3-bedroom apartments and well-located pieds-à-terre are current bright spots. Plans to reinvent many of the city’s streets and outdoor spaces will further support the city’s attractiveness in the years to come.

^{How we define prime Paris residential}

^{Prime: Typically priced between €2 million and €4 million, or €12,000 to €20,000 per sq m, prime property is usually found in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 16th arrondissements – though it can be anywhere given the right neighbourhood.}

^{Ultra-prime: Typically priced over €4 million, or above €20,000 per sq m, ultra-prime covers the most exceptional properties in the prime arrondissements. They may have large outdoor spaces, be in buildings of the highest architectural quality, or have views over famous monuments.}

_{Read the other articles within Report: Paris – 2021 below}