The HelloSafe platform, which compares financial products, has published a study revealing the salary needed to buy an 80 m² flat in France.
In most cases, buying a property requires a bank loan. To raise this debt, you need to show your banker that you have the right credentials: your banker will look at your ability to pay based on your cash flow and, above all, your annual income. With property prices varying so widely from one region to another, the same flat will not have the same value. So the loan required to buy it will not be the same, and neither will the average salary needed to convince the bank to grant you the loan...
A dream at an expensive price
HelloSafe has used the price of an 80 m² flat in France to determine the average annual salary you would need to earn to afford it. The calculation is based on the assumption of a mortgage with an interest rate of 3.85% over 25 years and a debt ratio of 35%.
And the results are staggering: for 80 m², the salary required varies by a factor of ten! In fact, while you need to earn just €22,505 gross per year to afford such a flat in Nièvre, you'll need to earn €223,311 in Paris!
Over and above this huge difference, the study establishes a national average: €56,978, the average gross annual income needed in France to buy an 80 m² flat.
High demand and scarcity of properties
"The French property market in the most expensive départements is demanding, requiring substantial financial resources to buy an 80 m² flat. The high prices seen in areas such as the Île-de-France and parts of the Rhône-Alpes region reflect the high demand and scarcity of properties available in 2023," explains Alexandre Desoutter, spokesperson at HelloSafe France. Demand for housing is generally linked to "factors such as proximity to business centres, public transport, tourist attractions and attractive natural landscapes", she adds.
Savoie at the top
In Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, only the departments of Ain and Isère are around the national average, with incomes of €60,440 and €63,341 respectively needed to buy 80 m². In most of the other départements in the region, the budget required is well below this: €28,176 in Allier, €32,483 in Cantal, €34,988 in Haute-Loire, €35,077 in Loire, €38,242 in Ardèche, €45,055 in Drôme and €48,088 in Puy-de-Dôme.
By contrast, three départements are close to the top. These are Rhône (€91,809), Haute-Savoie (€104,747) and Savoie (€110,550). In the Rhône, it is the Lyon metropolitan area in particular that is driving prices upwards. This is an area where there is a shortage of new supply, real estate pressure is very strong and prices are still high. This is comparable to the situation in Savoie, where there is also international demand and wealthy buyers, particularly in the ski resorts and on the shores of Lake Annecy, Lake Aix-les-Bains and Lake Geneva.
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