According to the benchmark Notaires-Insee housing index, house prices across France fell by 1.3% in the second quarter and year-on-year. Apartment prices have remained broadly stable over the year, but fell 0.6% in Q2.
The figures suggest that the period of relative stability has come to an end, although the market remains uneven.
After falling steadily from mid-2022, as higher borrowing costs put pressure on demand, property prices had begun to recover, rising by 1.1% during 2025. That recovery has now stalled.
Insee has also revised its earlier figures, showing that prices actually fell by 0.2% over the previous quarter (Q1), rather than the previously reported 0.2% increase.
The number of transactions over the previous 12 months reached 958,000, broadly unchanged since the beginning of the year. “The annual volume of transactions recovered between October 2024 and December 2025, after a continuous decline since the end of April 2022, the beginning of the crisis in the sector due to the rise in interest rates, and has stabilised since the beginning of the year", says INSEE.
Several factors are currently affecting the market, including higher interest rates, political uncertainty both in France and abroad, and the forthcoming presidential election next year.
Apartments in larger towns and cities are proving considerably more resilient than houses. Notaries state that the the post-pandemic demand for extra space and larger homes outside urban centres has faded, while the cost of bringing older houses up to current energy-efficiency standards is becoming an increasingly important factor for buyers, putting additional downward pressure on prices.
The regional picture is also mixed. Lyon recorded a 1.9% decline, while Marseille went against the broader trend, with prices rising by 2.2%. House prices in the Ile-de-France fell 1.5% year on year, whilst apartments fell 0.3%.
The next set of official Notaires-Insee figures, covering the summer months, is due to be published on 24 November 2026. Those figures should provide a clearer indication of whether the latest fall in prices is a temporary setback or the start of another sustained decline.
In a recent survey, 60% of notaires considered prices will fall this autumn. None expected an increase in prices.
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