Residential market 2026: active stabilisation confirmed in France
During the first quarter of 2026, the French residential market confirmed its recovery after a necessary period of correction. Following a year in 2025 marked by a gradual return in sales volumes, current indicators point to a consolidation trend and real opportunities for buyers.
Find out why the French residential sector is picking up and how investors can take advantage of this new cycle.
The year 2025 marked the end of the property crisis with a significant rebound in transactions, driven by a welcome fall in prices and more relaxed credit conditions. The existing property market returned to healthy volumes, with around 950,000 transactions per year. This positive trend is continuing in 2026, supported by three major pillars.
1. A resilient safe haven
The French property market remains a pillar of wealth investment. In 2025, prices began a modest recovery of around +1% to +1.8% nationally, after two years of decline. This moderate but steady growth in 2026 reassures investors about the lasting value of their properties, particularly for detached houses, which remain the primary dream of French people.
2. Historic rental tension
Demand for housing remains high, while new construction is still struggling to recover. This imbalance is keeping strong pressure on the rental market, offering private landlords virtually no rental vacancies and the prospect of optimised returns through energy-efficient renovation. Investors are now key players in responding to this structural housing shortage.
3. Stabilised credit rates
After sharp fluctuations in previous years, mortgage rates stabilised at the beginning of 2026. Average rates are now around 3.2% to 3.4% over 20 years. While the ECB's key interest rates remain under scrutiny to contain inflation, French banks are taking an aggressive approach and increasing their offers to attract new customers, making home ownership attractive again for households.
Main sources: Notaires-Insee & Observatoire Crédit Logement indices (March 2026 forecasts).
