Despite very low interest rates, intentions to buy property continue to decline, according to the 5th Explorimmo/Ifop barometer.

The French are worried. The fifth barometer recently published by the real estate listings website Explorimmo confirms the trend that began several months ago: buying a home is a desire that the French are increasingly abandoning. 75% of the 1,005 people surveyed stated that they have no real estate plans. This is the highest score since the barometer's launch in 2011. For the majority of renters today, remaining renters is not a choice but the consequence of insufficient resources to become homeowners. 7% of the French population even believe that buying would put them in financial difficulty. Yet, paradoxically, half of the French consider the current period favorable for undertaking a real estate project (51%), thanks in particular to favorable borrowing conditions.

The rather well-off buyers

According to Explorimmo, several factors explain this reluctance. "The economic climate, still-high prices, declining purchasing power, and fiscal instability prevent them from planning for the long term," explains Guillaume Teilhard de Chardin, director of the classifieds website, in a press release. Consequently, the minority of French people who still have plans to buy a home are among the wealthiest segment of the population, often already homeowners. According to the study, changing their primary residence is the goal for 53% of them. Their budget is also quite substantial, estimated at an average of €217,934. This represents a 14% increase compared to the previous survey conducted at the beginning of the year. The average down payment has also jumped by 30%, reaching €107,387 according to the study, compared to €83,072 six months earlier.

The study highlights another obstacle to real estate investment: government action. "74% consider the announced real estate measures to be largely ineffective," asserts Guillaume Teilhard de Chardin. To date, only a third of the French people surveyed trust the government to boost housing construction (34%), rentals (33%), purchases (31%), and sales (28%). This figure has fallen by 4 points since January 2013. For them, the most effective measure to guarantee better access to homeownership would be to put pressure on banks to keep interest rates low.

Source: Le Figaro