French resale property: prices almost break records

.During the first semester, the average price per square meter increased by 8.48% to €2,508, which is very close to the unprecedented prices of 2008. This year, real estate agency Century 21 (a network of 850 agencies) expects a 6% increase in resale property prices  in comparison with 2009.
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“We are very worried about this sharp increase and fear a freeze in sales, because the prices have reached the maximum buyers can afford” declared Laurent Vilmont, chairman of Century 21, during a press conference.

The average price has reached €2,508 per square meter during the first semester of 2010, an 8.48% increase in comparison with the first 6 months of 2009 and very near (-1.6%) the record of 2008 with the American subprime mortgage crisis and its worldwide consequences.

Throughout 2010, Century 21 expects a 6 % rise in resale property prices in comparison with 2009.

In Paris, after a 15% rise within a year – including a bit more than 10% in the last six months – a record was eventually broken with an average price of €7,079 per square meter, that is to say 5.4% more than in the first months of 2008. These sky-rocketing prices in the French capital, due to the demand of higher socio-professional categories and retired people, has not affected the number of sales, which have grown by 11.3% within a year.