1 October 2018

2018- n° 234

Continuing rise in prices of second-hand dwellings in Q2 2018; steady volume of transactions Notaries-INSEE second-hand dwellings price index - second quarter 2018

In Q2 2018, prices of second-hand dwellings in France (excluding Mayotte) were still increasing, but in a little less steady way than the previous quarter: +0.5% compared to Q1 2018 (provisional seasonally adjusted results), after +1.1%. Over a year, the rise of prices continued: +2.8% compared to Q2 2017, after +2.9% the quarter before. As observed since the end of 2016, this increase was mainly due to flat prices: +3.3% over the year, against 2.5% for houses.

In Q2 2018, prices of second-hand dwellings in Île-de-France continued to rise: +1.1% compared to Q1 2018, after +0.7%.

Year on year, prices were still increasing, but at a quite slower pace than observed the quarters before: +4.1%, after +4.2% and +4.7%. The rise of the flat prices pursued, with a slight slowdown: +4.8% over a year (+7.1% for flats in Paris), after +5.1%. The annual rise in the house prices in Île-de-France, less strong,  remained stable at +2.5% over the year.

In Q2 2018, the rise of prices of second-hand dwelling in provincial France increased by 0.2% compared to the previous quarter, after +1.2%.

Over one year, the prices increased less markedly than in Île-de-France: +2.3% between Q2 2017 and Q2 2018, after +2.4% and 2.6%. For the first time since the beginning of 2017, the annual rise was more important for houses (+2.5%) than for flats (+2.0%).

In Q2 2018, the annual volume of transactions remained at a high level: in June, the number of transactions carried out over the last twelve months was 953,000. This volume was similar as the one recorded one quarter earlier (956,000 in March), but remained higher than the one recorded one year earlier (915,000). Compared to the stock of available housing, which increases by around 1% per year, the proportion of transactions was equivalent to what was observed in the early 2000.

As explained in the warning at the beginning of this publication, the Notaries-INSEE second-hand dwellings prices indices are published in a new version from the revised publication of Q1 2018. Moreover, as usual, the second-hand housing price index is revised to include observations recorded after the previous publication.

In comparison with the results released on 2 July 2018, the change in prices in Q1 2018 has been revised downwards by −0.1 points overall (−0.3 points for flats, no revision for houses). The overall change in prices in Q1 2018 stands at +1.1% compared to Q4 2017, instead of +1.2% (figure updated on 2 July 2018) and +1.5% estimated on 7 June 2018.