The health crisis paralyzed the real estate market throughout the confinement. But in Tarn-et-Garonne, real estate agents have found a smile since May 11 with sustained demand.
It is not yet euphoria, but the first signs are encouraging. Real estate professionals want to remain optimistic even in an uncertain health context. “The traffic on our site had halved, but since the beginning of May, the consultation of advertisements has doubled and the buyers are there, remarks Nicolas Riquelme, co-director of the Century 21 agency in Montauban. Last week, we found 90% of our traffic on the site when there were no new goods for sale. I even signed in early May, before the end of the confinement, 15 new requests from buyers on goods that were available for a while now. The real estate market in Montauban seems to have weathered this health crisis well. “
Same story with the Montalbanese Coulon agency, where we are still monitoring the recovery in the aeronautics sector: “We are fortunate to be in a very dynamic region where the population increase has been constant for several years. years, notes the director of the agency Christelle Coulon. I now hope that the banks will still keep rates low enough and that the aeronautics sector will not suffer too much from the crisis. Each year we have many clients who are sub-contractors of Airbus or who work in the factories of the aircraft manufacturer. I keep my fingers crossed that there is not too much restructuring in this sector. “
Purchase-sale: demand still exceeds supply
In terms of real estate sales, it seems that the confinement has not changed anything. The discourse is always the same: demand still exceeds supply. The number of properties offered for sale is struggling to meet an increasingly sustained demand in an expanding urban area (110,000 inhabitants) highly prized by first-time buyers, retirees and investors. “Very good in 2019, the activity remains on the same dynamic in 2020, with an ever stronger demand and higher than the supply, assures Antony Coste of the Behappy agency. In recent years, we had a comfortable stock. but, today, it is decreasing. Results: the prices until then rather stable are likely to climb, the purchasers wanting to take advantage of this windfall effect. “
The figure: 1,150 real estate transactions in Montauban in 2019
A sustained market while the national average for a city of the same size would be around 900 transactions. Certain properties in hyper-center, which sold for 1,500 € / m2, five years ago, are traded today, at more than € 2,000 / m2. Townhouses, very rare, do not stay on view for long, like this 175 m building.2 requiring major work and which found a taker at 230,000 €. The same type of property without work exceeds € 300,000 and is sold just as easily. The standard T4 house of 100 m2 2000s, in residential areas, very quickly went to 190,000 €.
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According to the latest figures recorded by notaries, on transactions carried out between December 2018 and November 2019, the median price of old houses is € 172,100 (109 m2 living space, 700 m2 of land), up 1.2% . In the country of Montauban, prices have remained stable, with 160,000 € you can buy a house of 110 m2, with a plot of more than 1,500 m2. Highly sought after properties in Montbeton, Albias, Campsas or Labastide-Saint-Pierre. In general, the south of the department benefits from its proximity to Toulouse.
But would the Covid-19 epidemic have changed the situation in the second home market? Would Toulouse residents want to invest in the countryside, less than 100 km from home? “This cannot be ruled out, assures Marie-Josée Parrau, who runs the Combarieu real estate agency in Caussade and Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val. It is still a little early to see transactions take place but we have some interesting touches. in our area. As long as the 100 km rule imposed by the government was in force, many buyers were stranded at home and did not come to visit. But in the east of the department, the problem remains the same: We lack offers. 5 years ago, we had 350 properties for sale when today we are struggling to reach 200. Even if the English preferred to leave with Brexit, the Dutch and Belgians still appreciate our sector as much. . Covid-19 shouldn’t change things. “
Rentals: a sustained market
The rental market is coming out of a degraded period when tenants could post notices without landlords being able to launch searches for new tenants. It was difficult to move during confinement with the removal of the movers’ activity. The return to normal is full of energy. “We receive about 60 requests per day from people looking for a rental, explains Céline Riquelme of the Century 21 agency in Montauban. We are thus making up for the delay in March and April. A very positive point: people looking for a rental have had time to get a very precise idea of the good they are looking for. This saves us time. “
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