New data from the Notaires de France reveals a record number of transactions, as well as a 7% rise for French property prices, in the second quarter of this year, compared to Q2 2020.

The report said an “extremely fluid market,” coupled with government measures to mitigate the effects of the pandemic, has emboldened people to make a property purchase. The data is compiled by the official network of notaires and looks at the evolution of real estate prices and market trends. It is several months behind that of some leading estate agents but is the most comprehensive available as notaires are involved in all transactions nationwide.

There were marked regional differences in property price changes. Rennes saw a 12.4% annual rise to an average of €3,450sqm for flats, while Nice saw a 0.6% rise for flats to €4,090sqm.  

For non-new build houses, Toulon saw a 14% rise in median sale prices to €424,000 and Nancy a rise of 13.8% to an average price of €223,000. By contrast, the price of houses fell 7.9% in Metz to €226,000 and by 6.8% in Châteauroux (Indre, Centre-Val de Loire) to €116,000.

The data also showed that a record number of transactions took place over a 12-month period, with 1,208,000 transactions for non-new-build houses and flats, compared with a previous record of 1,123,000 set for the 12-month period ending May 2021.