French Property Prices by City in 2025 — What Transaction Data Reveals
Paris has corrected 10% from its 2020 peak. Lyon is down 13% from 2022. But Nice and Marseille have not corrected at all, with prices up more than 27% since 2020. We analysed 62,191 apartment transactions across 11 French cities, matched with DPE energy ratings, to give foreign buyers the numbers they need before making an offer.
TL;DR
Paris median: 9,645 €/sqm (a 50 sqm flat costs roughly 482,000 €). Lyon corrected 13.3% from its 2022 peak and is now at 4,748 €/sqm. Nice is the outlier: no correction, still at 5,013 €/sqm and climbing. In 6 of 9 cities analysed, poorly-insulated historic apartments sell for more per sqm than energy-efficient new builds — the opposite of what most foreign buyers expect.
Current prices: 11 cities ranked
Median price per sqm for apartments, January 2024 to December 2025. The "typical 50 m²" column gives a practical purchase budget (median × 50, excluding notary fees of approximately 7-8% for existing properties). All figures are medians — less sensitive to trophy-asset transactions than averages.
| City | Median €/sqm | Typical 50 m² |
|---|---|---|
| 1Paris | 9,645 € | 482k € |
| 2Nice | 5,013 € | 251k € |
| 3Lyon | 4,748 € | 237k € |
| 4Bordeaux | 4,289 € | 214k € |
| 5Rennes | 4,089 € | 204k € |
| 6Lille | 3,851 € | 193k € |
| 7Montpellier | 3,612 € | 181k € |
| 8Nantes | 3,602 € | 180k € |
| 9Toulouse | 3,473 € | 174k € |
| 10Marseille | 3,303 € | 165k € |
| 11Grenoble | 2,803 € | 140k € |
Source: DVF DGFiP × DPE ADEME (dpe_dvf_matches), apartments, January 2024 to December 2025, prix_m2 between 800 and 30,000 €. Paris includes all arrondissements (PARIS 01 to PARIS 20). Lyon includes all 9 arrondissements. Marseille includes all 16 arrondissements.
Reading the interquartile range: For Lyon (IQR 3,954 to 5,590 €/sqm), the wide spread reflects the difference between a studio in a peripheral arrondissement and a well-renovated flat in the Presqu'île. For a specific address, the Normi API returns the local median for the exact postal code via GET /v1/stats/market.
Who corrected and who did not
Between 2022 and 2025, rising interest rates triggered a price correction across most French cities. The correction was concentrated in cities that had the sharpest 2020-2022 run-up. Two cities — Nice and Marseille — never entered correction territory.
Change from peak year to 2025 (negative = below peak)
Annual median (Jan-Dec per year). Data: DVF×DPE, apartments, 2020-2025. Peak year identified as the year with the highest annual median for each city.
Lyon stands out as the sharpest corrector (-13.3% from its 2022 peak of 5,421 €/sqm to 4,702 €/sqm in 2025). Bordeaux followed at -11.2% (peak 4,783 €, now 4,247 €). Both cities had attracted speculative demand during the 2021-2022 post-Covid boom, and both remain above their 2020 levels — so the correction has erased the boom gains, not the underlying trend.
Nantes corrected a similar -10.6% (4,000 € peak in 2022, now 3,577 €). The Atlantic coast cities that benefited from remote-work migration saw the sharpest reversals once interest rates made 400,000 € mortgages unaffordable for most buyers.
Paris is a separate story: its peak was 2020 (10,827 €/sqm), not 2022, and the correction has been steady rather than sharp. At 9,722 €/sqm in 2025, Paris is exactly where it was in 2019. The city shows tentative stabilisation: 2025 volumes (11,398 transactions in our sample) are up from the 2024 trough (9,910).
Nice and Marseille are the two cities where the data tells a different story. Nice has not corrected: from 3,994 €/sqm in 2020 to 5,119 €/sqm in 2025, a 28.2% gain with no interruption. Marseille gained 27.3% over the same period. Both markets share characteristics that insulate them: a large share of second-home and international buyers for Nice, and a catch-up dynamic for Marseille (it was significantly underpriced relative to comparable European port cities entering the decade).
The DPE anomaly: what most foreign buyers get wrong
Since France banned G-rated apartments from new rental agreements in January 2025 (F-rated follow in 2028), many overseas buyers assume that a poor energy rating depresses a property's purchase price. Our data shows this is not true in most French cities.
| City | Class A (€/sqm) | Class G (€/sqm) | G vs A |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toulouse | 3,343 € | 4,553 € | +36% |
| Lille | 3,279 € | 4,153 € | +27% |
| Rennes | 4,133 € | 4,733 € | +14% |
| Bordeaux | 4,078 € | 4,625 € | +13% |
| Nantes | 3,709 € | 3,873 € | +4% |
| Paris | 10,129 € | 10,300 € | +2% |
| Lyon | 5,240 € | 4,914 € | -6% |
| Nice | 5,195 € | 5,029 € | -3% |
| Marseille | 4,298 € | 2,871 € | -33% |
Apartments, 2022-2025. Source: DVF×DPE matched dataset. Class A = DPE label A, Class G = DPE label G. N = number of transactions.
In Toulouse, a G-rated apartment sells for a median 4,553 €/sqm while an A-rated one sells for 3,343 €/sqm — G is 36% more expensive. In Lille the gap is 27%. Rennes and Bordeaux both show G priced above A.
The mechanism is the same in each city: G-rated buildings are, overwhelmingly, pre-1975 stone construction in city centres (Haussmann-style in Paris, pink brick in Toulouse, half-timbered in Rennes). A-rated buildings are almost exclusively post-2012 new-builds, built to RT2012 standards, on the city fringe. When you compare their median prices across an entire city, you are comparing addresses, not insulation. Centre beats periphery on price, in every city where we have data.
This does not mean the DPE is irrelevant to your investment. It means you must read it at the right scale. At the city level, G often costs more than A. At the street level — two comparable apartments in the same building, one C and one F — the F will trade at a discount on negotiation because the buyer can quantify the renovation cost.
The exception: Marseille (and, to a lesser degree, Lyon)
Marseille is the only major French city where energy efficiency clearly correlates with price. A-rated apartments fetch 4,298 €/sqm while G-rated reach only 2,871 €/sqm (A is 50% more expensive). Two factors explain this: Marseille has a higher proportion of modern, well-located A/B buildings (recent construction in premium neighbourhoods like the 8th and 12th), and a lower share of passoires in the total market (4.8% vs 26% in Paris). Lyon shows a milder version of the same pattern (A at 5,240 vs G at 4,914, a 6.6% premium for A).
For investors targeting rental income: regardless of what the purchase price says, G-rated apartments carry a concrete operating risk from January 2025. You cannot sign a new tenancy. F-rated properties face the same restriction from 2028. Factor renovation cost into your yield calculation before committing.
Five cities, five investor profiles
Paris
Prestige with a 10% discount vs 2020
- •Down 10.2% from its 2020 peak. Paris is at 2019 prices, with 2025 volumes recovering.
- •DPE is almost irrelevant to price at the city level: G-rated Haussmannians (26% of sales) sell at 10,300 €/sqm, equal to A-rated.
- •For buyers, focus on arrondissement and floor, not DPE label. For investors, verify the DPE before any rental.
- •Liquidity is the strongest in France: 21,308 transactions in our 2024-2025 sample.
Lyon
Sharpest correction, strongest case for entry
- •Corrected 13.3% from its 2022 peak of 5,421 €/sqm. At 4,702 €/sqm in 2025, it is now below 2021 prices.
- •Second-largest economy in France, strong rental demand from students and professionals.
- •A-rated buildings command a slight premium (A=5,240, G=4,914), so the DPE works here as expected.
- •Wide IQR (3,954-5,590 €) reflects a market of genuine contrasts — Confluence vs. outer 9th.
Nice
Mediterranean coast with no correction
- •Up 28.2% since 2020 with no correction. Nice peaked in 2023 (4,942 €), dipped 0.7% in 2024, then resumed climbing in 2025 (5,119 €).
- •Second-home and international buyer demand buffers the market from interest-rate cycles affecting primary residences.
- •A-rated properties command a 3% premium over G — the DPE matters, but only marginally.
- •Entry cost is the second-highest in France. Wide IQR (3,962-6,312 €/sqm) signals large quality spread.
Marseille
Affordable entry, genuine growth, where DPE works
- •Up 27.3% since 2020, no correction. Still the most affordable major French city at under 3,500 €/sqm.
- •The only major city where energy efficiency clearly correlates with price: A-rated flats sell for 50% more per sqm than G-rated.
- •For investors, energy-efficient properties in Marseille provide both a purchase discount (vs. Paris/Lyon comps) and a credible rental premium.
- •Wide IQR (2,413-4,242 €) reflects the sharp contrasts between arrondissements.
Toulouse
Stable market, aerospace-driven demand
- •Barely corrected: -2.2% from 2022 peak. Stable transaction volumes (5,426 in 2024-2025 sample).
- •Home to Airbus HQ, strong STEM employment base, and one of France's largest student populations.
- •The DPE paradox is strongest here: G-rated apartments in the historic centre sell for 36% more per sqm than A-rated new-builds.
- •An investor buying a historic-centre flat at 4,500+ €/sqm needs to factor F/G letting restrictions before 2028.
Verifying any property before you make an offer
The city-level medians above are starting points. Before submitting an offer, we recommend running three checks at the postal-code level using the Normi API:
Comparable transactions
Filter by code_postal + type_local + surface_min/max to see the last 20-30 comparable sales within walking distance of the property.
View docs →Local DPE premium
Returns the price gap between A/B and F/G properties in a specific commune or postal code. Quantify whether the DPE matters in the exact micromarket.
View docs →Address history
Query a specific address by street name and postal code. See every recorded sale since 2014, including the price paid and surface.
View docs →Methodology
Sources: DVF DGFiP (Licence Ouverte 2.0, data.gouv.fr, property mutations 2014-2025) × DPE ADEME (open data, base nationale DPE-DL).
Matching: each DVF transaction is geo-matched to a DPE record using the cadastral reference (section + parcel number) then by geographic proximity (25 m radius). National coverage rate: approximately 38% of DVF transactions have a matched DPE.
Price-per-city queries: apartments (computed_type_local = 'Appartement'), prix_m2 between 800 and 30,000 €, date_mutation between 1 January 2024 and 31 December 2025. Aggregation: PERCENTILE_CONT(0.5) — median rather than mean to limit sensitivity to trophy transactions. Paris, Lyon and Marseille aggregated across all arrondissements.
DPE premium table: same filters, date_mutation from 2022 to 2025 to increase sample size for less common DPE classes (A, G).
Limitation: the matching process creates a selection bias. Properties with a DPE on record tend to be apartments that have changed hands since 2011 (when DPE became mandatory on sale) and are disproportionately in co-ownership buildings. Detached houses, rural properties, and newly built homes without prior sale are under-represented. Figures should be used as market benchmarks, not automated valuations.
Full raw queries and results: content/blog/french-property-prices-2025.data.json in the Normi repository.
Run your own analysis with the Normi API
Every figure in this article is reproducible with a free Normi API token. Use GET /v1/stats/market for any postal code, or GET /v1/stats/dpe-premium to see the energy-rating price gap in any commune.
Free tier: 500 credits per month. No credit card required.