Buy Apartment in Paris

Table of Contents

Apartments in Paris – Rent or Buy

Paris is one of the most iconic cities in the world as people flock there to visit such sights as the glorious Eiffel Tower and the wonderful Champs Elysees. Since the financial crisis, the property market in Paris suffered something of a collapse. The price of flats and apartments for sale in the French capital dropped significantly, and have stayed considerably low.

On the other hand, the price of Parisian flats for rent stayed the same. The rental market in Paris is extremely popular, largely due to the sheer wealth of attractions, the positive job outlook, and the exceptional education system.

Where To Live In Paris

Paris is by far the biggest city in France and is split up into different regions, often referred to as districts. With that being said, what are some of the best areas to live in Paris? Truthfully, you want to find apartments to buy or rent that are close to some of the main attractions and hotspots the city has to offer.

So, we’ve compiled a list of the best places you should think about living in:

  • Flats close to Eiffel Tower
  • Flats near Disneyland Paris
  • Flats within a good distance of the CDG Airport
  • Flats by the Gare Du Nord station
  • Flats by the Gare de Lyon station
  • Flats in the city centre
  • Flats by St Germain
  • Eiffel Tower

You will find so many great apartments with an Eiffel Tower view in Paris. What’s great about living here is you get to be in a busy part of the city, and encounter many locals with a typical French attitude. There are flats for sale in this area, as well as one’s for rent short term and for rent long term.

This is a location where it makes sense to buy a flat as you can then lease it out to holiday goers should you decide to move elsewhere.

Disneyland

Disneyland Paris is right on the outskirts of the city, but there are direct transport links to it. You will also find some apartments to rent or buy right by the complex. This is a great idea for short term rent if you and your family want to visit Disneyland for an extended period of time, as they’re cheaper than hotels. Also another great idea for investing in a Parisian apartment to lease out.

CDG Airport

CDG airport is the biggest airport in France and, according to Expedia, has flights to many countries all over the world. Flats within this area are reasonably priced for both renters and buyers due to the airplane noise pollution. The area is still desirable as you are close to a big airport meaning it’s perfect for students or people looking for short-term rental apartments on business trips.

Gare Du Nord

The Gare Du Nord station is home to the Eurostar train connecting Paris and London. As such, apartments in this area are very desirable and come with a cost. You’re also very close to a lot of main Paris attractions in this area

Gare De Lyon

The Gare de Lyon station connects Paris with other major cities in France. It’s also a great place to start if you need to journey around the metro system and get to work every day. It’s also close to the city centre and near many Parisian hotspots

City Centre

By far the most expensive flats are the ones in the city centre. However, you do get to live in a prime location. These flats are perfect if you have intentions of living in France for the long-term future. If you’d rather find something for rent on vacation, then you’re better off looking outside of the city centre.

The beauty of living in the city centre is there’s never a dull moment. Something is always happening, whether it’s summer or Christmas! A quick look on Tripadvisor will show you all the hot spots in Paris central for you to enjoy.

St Germain

St Germain is a popular area of Paris that’s full of artistic museums and lovely cafes. It’s the perfect place to live thanks to its close location to main railway networks and the city centre. Plus, it’s close to a hospital too, making it a great family location.

Types Of Flats & Apartments In Paris

Next, it’s time to think about the types of Parisian flats and apartments you can find.

  • For sale
  • For rent short-term
  • For rent long-term
  • For students
  • Cheap rent
  • For vacations

To Rent Or To Buy?

The big question isn’t whether or not you should live in Paris, it’s whether or not you should rent or buy. Both have their benefits, which can be seen down below:

Benefits Of Renting:

While rentals in Paris can be expensive in some districts, there are some positive reasons why you may choose to rent instead of to buy:

  • Can find long-term and short-term rent
  • Ideal for renting holiday apartments
  • No commitment to a single property
  • Easier to finance than buying an apartment

Benefits Of Buying:

Likewise, there are many benefits of buying a flat or apartment in Paris:

  • Prices are cheap compared to other big cities
  • Don’t have to keep up with monthly rent
  • Ideal if you want to live in France for the foreseeable future

Generally speaking, there is a higher concentration of Paris rentals by owner compared to flats that are bought and lived in permanently. Largely, this is because the buying/selling real estate market is bad, so you can’t flip apartments for a profit. However, you can buy an apartment and then put it on the market for a short-term rent to get money when you don’t live there.

Flats For Students

Paris has earned a reputation for being one of the best cities in Europe – and the world – when it comes to education. As a result, there’s been an explosion of foreign students journey to Paris to study at university. The main Paris universities all indulge in the Erasmus scheme to accept foreign exchange students. As a result, there is a lot of student accommodation provided by the university.

However, if you apply on your own without being part of the scheme, you may have to find your own accommodation, particularly if you’re a mature student. Typically, you’ll be looking at either living in hostels or trying to find apartments for short term rent while you study.

Even if you can get student accommodation, many people choose to rent flats instead. Why? Because there are benefits:

  • Can choose where you want to live
  • Flats are cheap to rent when you live with other people
  • Don’t have to live by strict student accommodation rules

Can find flats with long term leases as well as short ones if you want to stay in Paris after your semester’s end.

Students should search for flats through an agency and try to find ones in good locations with plenty of public transport links to and from their university.

Flats For Vacation

Much of the real estate in France is dominated by people buying or renting flats for a holiday. Paris is full of flats and Citadines that are ideal for holiday goers. They have short term rent leases and are far more affordable than hotels.

There are many things you should look for when renting or buying an apartment for your vacation:

  • Distance to main attractions
  • Price
  • Number of bedrooms
  • Lease period (if renting)
  • Public transport links

Ideally, you want to find somewhere that’s close to public transport, meaning you can get around Paris daily, but it can’t be too far away from all the main attractions Paris has to offer. Also, you want something that’s reasonably well-priced considering the number of bedrooms you get. Of course, there’s no point renting a flat if it has a long-term lease for a few months and your vacation is only going to last a few weeks.

Finding Your Ideal Paris Apartment/Flat

As one of the leading estate agents in Paris, we can help you find your ideal apartment or flat. With a variety of properties under our radar, we will have something that suits your needs and demands.

When figuring out your ideal Paris apartment, it’s important to consider these things:

  • Are you buying or renting?
  • If you’re renting, do you want a short term or long term rental?
  • How much can you afford to spend?
  • What is the purpose of your apartment? (Student flat, vacation property, family home, etc.)
  • Where do you want to live in Paris? (See the popular areas earlier in this guide)
  • How soon do you need to move in?

Answer all these questions for us, and we’ll soon narrow down your search and come back with a handful of apartments/flats that are perfect for you.

Get in touch with us today by viewing the Contacts page of our site and calling us or emailing any queries.

How to buy a flat in Paris

Sooner or later, we are facing with the problem of changing housing. Consider the most popular to date real estate search options. What you can do?

  1. Contact the real estate agency.

Each agency has at its disposal the base of apartments, the agent will select the most appropriate flat to the client based on the needs and financial capabilities of the customer. The beauty of agencies is that they are professional and that they know their job, so they know exactly how, where and when buy an apartment or a house the most advantageous.

Pros: you do not do the paperwork and get the complete package of papers that will save your time and your energy.

Cons: lack of direct contact with the owner of the property.

  1. Notary can also help you.

In France, the apartment can be bought by a notary, though, this is not the best option, because a lot of notaries will refuse to cooperate with you, they do not really favor this type of activity.

Pros: notaries have more time than real estate agents, so they can give more time to clients.

Cons: hard to find a notary who will not refuse to take up the sale / purchase of property.

  1. Grub on the Internet and find a flat you like.

In the vastness of the world there are many sites that contain a lot of ads for buying and selling real estate. In most cases it is enough to register and log in to the web site, create your advertisement and wait for the results. It’s just a question, how long to wait? Here, there is no clear answer. As well as no one can guarantee the authenticity and integrity of the given information and of people on the other side of the monitor, which in the future may become your partners in the transaction of purchase / sale of real estate.

Pros: At your home you can get access to an unlimited number of advertisements. Also, in this case you’ll be able to buy your flat without intermediaries.

Cons: Unfortunately, the information accuracy in the advertissement is almost impossible to verify.

So what shall I do?

Of course, the main thing to explore all possible options and choose the most suitable option for you, because the purchase of real estate is quite a significant event in your life, because “your home is your castle”!

What you should consider when buying apartment in Paris

For many people Paris is one of the places you can dream all your life about. Thanks to God, today if you want to visit this wonderful city there is no any difficulties, all you need is the presence of a certain sum of money. But some people do not want to content with a little and often have a desire to get a Paris real estate. The reasons for this could be different, but possible problems connected with it are common, so we offer to your attention our material on the topic “how to buy apartment in Paris“.

Obviously, Paris is one of those cities on the planet, interest in which will always remain wide, and it means that there will be not only the numerous tourists, but also many people who want to buy a Paris real estate. It is noteworthy that despite the global financial crisis, prices for apartments in Paris are almost at the same pre-crisis level, what demonstrates the huge interest in the metropolis and, accordingly, underlines its investment attractiveness. As ten years ago, Paris remains to be one of the most interesting places for people with an opportunity to buy abroad real estate.

If we talk about residential real estate so in recent years the apartments located in the Paris areas with houses of the old building are the most popular, what connected with not very high cost.

Nowadays the majority of the foreign buyers of Parisian apartments are not wealthy entrepreneurs with business interests in the city, as it may seem at the first view, but the people who are conquered with a banal beauty of Paris. Unfortunately, these buyers are generally focused only on their “romantic” impulses, and they lose the practical aspects. And sometimes buying apartment in Paris without the proper preparation can lead to serious and not very pleasant consequences.

The first, you should always remember about the French tax law, which is very specific in the matters of the real estate deals. Tax and notary fees could amount to 7 percent of the acquired property of five years and older flats. In the new buildings, however, are more “soft” rates (about 3 percent).

Also, people who want to buy apartment in Paris should know that they have to spend on its maintenance in any case. France has an official fortune tax with a progressive scale, however, real estate cheaper than 770.000 euro is not taxed. But there is an imperative property tax, the average rate of which is about 0.5 percent of sales price.

Extra items can be a service of apartments, what depends on several factors (the house is the architectural treasures or not, age of the building, the availability of parking and safety, public utilities). Usually you’ll spend 200-300 euro for it, including electricity and water supply.

Certain issues can be connected with condition of communications, it happens that they are in a very dangerous condition (especially in the old buildings). But it could be difficult to identify immediately. In this case, it is very important to have special insurance to avoid troubles, especially if you do not live in the apartment permanently.

If you really love this city and want to buy an apartment in Paris, Glamour Apartments will become your faithful assistant in this matter. We are ready to take on all the issues in search of apartments offered on the real estate market of the French capital, to provide legal assistance on all issues, to examine the technical condition of the apartment you are interested in.

Main nuances of buying apartments in Paris

For many people Paris is one of the places you can dream all your life about. Thanks to God, today if you want to visit this wonderful city there is no any difficulties, all you need is the presence of a certain sum of money. But some people do not want to content with a little and often have a desire to get a Paris real estate. The reasons for this could be different, but possible problems connected with it are common, so we offer to your attention our material on the topic “how to buy apartment in Paris“.

Obviously, Paris is one of those cities on the planet, interest in which will always remain wide, and it means that there will be not only the numerous tourists, but also many people who want to buy a Paris real estate. It is noteworthy that despite the global financial crisis, prices for apartments in Paris are almost at the same pre-crisis level, what demonstrates the huge interest in the metropolis and, accordingly, underlines its investment attractiveness. As ten years ago, Paris remains to be one of the most interesting places for people with an opportunity to buy abroad real estate.

If we talk about residential real estate so in recent years the apartments located in the Paris areas with houses of the old building are the most popular, what connected with not very high cost.

Nowadays the majority of the foreign buyers of Parisian apartments are not wealthy entrepreneurs with business interests in the city, as it may seem at the first view, but the people who are conquered with a banal beauty of Paris. Unfortunately, these buyers are generally focused only on their “romantic” impulses, and they lose the practical aspects. And sometimes buying apartment in Paris without the proper preparation can lead to serious and not very pleasant consequences.

The first, you should always remember about the French tax law, which is very specific in the matters of the real estate deals. Tax and notary fees could amount to 7 percent of the acquired property of five years and older flats. In the new buildings, however, are more “soft” rates (about 3 percent).

Also, people who want to buy apartment in Paris should know that they have to spend on its maintenance in any case. France has an official fortune tax with a progressive scale, however, real estate cheaper than 770.000 euro is not taxed. But there is an imperative property tax, the average rate of which is about 0.5 percent of sales price.

Extra items can be a service of apartments, what depends on several factors (the house is the architectural treasures or not, age of the building, the availability of parking and safety, public utilities). Usually you’ll spend 200-300 euro for it, including electricity and water supply.

Certain issues can be connected with condition of communications, it happens that they are in a very dangerous condition (especially in the old buildings). But it could be difficult to identify immediately. In this case, it is very important to have special insurance to avoid troubles, especially if you do not live in the apartment permanently.

If you really love this city and want to buy an apartment in Paris, Glamour Apartments will become your faithful assistant in this matter. We are ready to take on all the issues in search of apartments offered on the real estate market of the French capital, to provide legal assistance on all issues, to examine the technical condition of the apartment you are interested in.