The health crisis has upset the rental market. According to figures from the SeLoger Rental Barometer for the month of October, the supply of rental accommodation and the number of French people looking for a rental are exploding. An influx which is far from slowing down the evolution of rents …
Rents are increasing at a rate of 2.6% per year
According to the latest SeLoger Rent Barometer, rents are continuing to increase at a rate of + 2.6% year-on-year. ” While the Covid crisis has turned our habits upside down, it has also upset the rental market. In almost the entire territory, the supply of rental housing (+ 32%) and the number of French people looking for a rental (+ 66%) are growing strongly compared to the same period in 2019“, Observes Florent Guiocheau, Data Manager of the SeLoger Group.
Obviously, the increase in rents observed over one year varies by region and by type of rental. ” Some cities stand out: Paris, which has achieved stability (+ 0.2% per year) at a record rent level of € 1,635 cc on average for an empty rental property, or Bordeaux, which has continued to grow uninterrupted for more than three years. (+ 4.3% annually at € 777 cc on average for an empty rental property), specifies Florent Guiocheau In addition, the furnished lease confirms its attractiveness, both with landlords and tenants: the supply of furnished apartments for rent is exploding in cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants (x2.2 in one year). »
Rents are increasing faster than the income of the French
If rents are increasing less rapidly than housing prices, it is however clear that they are increasing faster than the incomes of the French. Over the year, the rents for empty rentals have increased by 2.6% to reach € 708 per month, charges included. On the furnished market, the increase is 3% for an average rent which currently amounts – charges included – to € 751 per month. However, according to INSEE, Covid has required, since the start of the year, household income, for its part, has fallen by 0.8%.
Rental purchasing power which remains at 57 square meters
The average area of an empty rental is currently the same as a year ago at the same time, namely 57 square meters. On the other hand, it should be noted that the furnished apartments show a slight decrease in their area, which is limited to 55 square meters, against 56 square meters in 2019 as shown in our study last year. Unlike the real estate purchasing power of the French, which the rise in prices has considerably reduced, the rental purchasing power of tenants tends to stabilize.
Small areas that can be rented at high speed!
The tension, which characterizes real estate markets in metropolitan areas, means that future buyers must show responsiveness in their research and be ready – both mentally and financially – to quickly make an offer at price. In the rental market, speed is also a highly sought-after, if not essential, quality! And this is even more true if it is a two-room apartment for which you want to sign the lease contract. Judge rather, in Angers, a T2 finds a taker, on average, in two days if it is rented furnished and in three days if it is an empty rental. Moreover, the Rental Barometer Housing tells us that it is in the prefecture of Maine-et-Loire that the rental periods are the shortest for this type of property.
Furnished rentals have increased by + 12.7% in 1 year in Annecy
By exploding the rental vacancy for furnished seasonal rentals, the Covid has, at the same time, caused a massive return to the market for conventional furnished rentals. It is also a safe bet that some “first-time landlords” have also chosen the classic furnished rental, which is certainly less profitable than tourist rental but more secure. While it should help boost stocks in a penury rental market by allowing more rental applicants to find accommodation, this influx of furnished apartments is far from slowing down the trend in rents. In Annecy, rents for furnished apartments thus increased (this is the biggest increase!) By 12.7% over 1 year, followed by Strasbourg (+ 12.1%) and Caen (+ 10.1%).
Rents for empty rentals increased by 8.3% in 1 year in Brest
In the empty rental market, the trend is also up. According to the SeLoger Rent Barometer, it is in Brittany, and more precisely in Brest, that the rents for empty rented accommodation are increasing the fastest. In the port of Ponant, renting an empty home costs 8.3% more than a year ago, at the same time! In the ranking of cities where the rents of empty rentals have been flashed on the radar also appear, in second place, Boulogne-Billancourt (+ 6.6% over 1 year) and Dijon (+ 5.3%).
The rental: a lifeline for first-time buyers?
Deprived of the possibility of owning property by soaring real estate prices and the tightening of the conditions for granting bank loans, first-time buyers could well – because they cannot buy their home – simply rent it out… The market Rental could then constitute a sort of parallel offer, admittedly less popular than the transaction market (property is undoubtedly a powerful social marker in France!) but more accessible.
