Insee Analyses · October 2026 · n° 125

Heirs to a dwelling are 54 years old on average, while beneficiaries of a gift are 48

Between 2018 and 2023, in France excluding Alsace, Moselle and Mayotte, an average of 702,000 dwellings were transferred each year—519,000 through inheritance (from a deceased person to their heirs) and 183,000 through gifts (between living persons). On average, an heir to a dwelling is 54 years old and a beneficiary of a gift is 48 years old, while a homebuyer is 43 years old.

In three out of every four dwelling transfers, the owner transfers a property to someone who is between 20 and 39 years younger than they are—a gap of one generation. Before the transfer, 63% of heirs and donees already own property, and 27% of them already own several dwellings.

Furthermore, dwelling transfers are more common between wealthy individuals: transfers of dwellings among people in the top fifth of the wealthiest are three and a half times more frequent than the average for the population as a whole. Three years after an inheritance, 29% of inherited dwellings had been sold by the heirs.