What is the average time frame to buy an apartment in Paris?
How long does it take to buy a home in Paris? Between the search for the property and the final act of purchase, it can take several months. We are going to review the various steps that will lead you to the final act of sale.
Buying a home in Paris: the three factors that affect the acquisition time
The search for the property
The time of looking for an apartment in Paris or a house in the first or second ring can be more or less long. This will depend on multiple factors:
The location
The district or city of research will influence the time it will take to find real estate that you covet. Some types of apartments or houses are more or less present in one district and less in others. An example: find an apartment with a terrace will be much more easily found in the 16th arrondissement than in the 6th arrondissement. The 16th arrondissement of Paris saw a lot of buildings built after the 1950s (a time when buildings were delivered with large balconies and terraces) while the 6th is a protected district where real estate projects in the 20th century were very rare (in old buildings, it was not customary to build terraces).
The scarcity of search criteria will tend to extend the duration of the acquisition.
Patrick explains how long it will take you to become the owner of your own apartment
Buy or sell market?
The orientation of real estate market Buyer or seller will play on the difficulty of finding the coveted apartment. Why? In a market where sellers have control, that is, an active market with prices that tend to increase, real estate sell out quickly. The pressure on buyers is significant, the demand is greater than the supply. This situation is going to make it more difficult to find than to sell. The time to find is going to get longer.
When the real estate market is in favor of buyers, we are in a moment when the supply is more abundant, the demand is lower. The real estate prices tend to go down. Finding an apartment may, at this point, be more obvious and therefore quicker.
The criteria sought
The rarity of a single criterion can have a strong impact on the time it will take you to obtain the real estate that you want to be the owner of. In Paris, the most complex are the terraces and the views of historical monuments.
The accumulation of criteria can also play a significant role. An apartment in a Haussmann building on the top floor with a long balcony, unobstructed view, 3 m minimum ceiling height and without work will be a real headache to identify.
The excessive accumulation of mandatory criteria is an aspect on which I sometimes warn the buyers I advise. They can sometimes make it nearly impossible to find.
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The budget
Don't assume that the bigger your budget is, the easier the search will be. Where the budget can come into play is the flexibility of the budget in relation to price of the property you are looking for. Let me explain: if you are looking for an apartment whose estimated cost is for example €750,000, a buyer who will have a budget of up to €800,000 will have a higher probability of finding his apartment quickly than a buyer whose budget cannot exceed €760,000. Why? When a budget has a margin of flexibility, the purchaser may be interested in a wider range of apartments. An example: I am looking for at least 50 m2 on a tight budget: I could be interested in apartments between 50 and 53 m2. If I am looking for the same area with a larger budget, I could look at apartments up to 60 m2. This will affect the amount of time spent on research.
The financing
Yes! It's unfair, but you have to be realistic: the more important your personal contribution is, the easier it will be to find the ideal apartment. Why? If you are competing with another buyer, the buyer with the strongest financial profile will win. The stronger your personal contribution, the less likely you are to have an apartment blown away by a competing buyer.
The profile of buyers
Some need to visit numerous apartments to get an idea of the real estate market. Others, relying on their instincts, will be able to make up their minds more quickly when they visit an apartment in which they feel comfortable.
Buying an apartment or a home is an important decision that may be easier for some buyers than for others.
Luck
This is an aspect that is not often mentioned, but very important. The real estate market offers opportunities or not. The type of property you are looking for arrives on the market or is wanted. Luck and the right time have their say. You will also understand that the rarer the real estate you are looking for, the more the luck factor plays a major role.
To be accompanied or not
Some buyers make the choice to ask a real estate hunter to take charge of their research. This will affect the research time. The apartment hunter's knowledge of the real estate market and access to a larger number of properties will statistically reduce the time spent finding your future home.
Report on the research phase
This is the most influential aspect on the timing of research. It depends on numerous criteria that can play a major role. However, I can give you an average value of a real estate search when working with a real estate hunter : it is around two months.
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The preliminary sales contract
There are two options when buying a home: promise of sale or the compromise of sale.
The sales agreement
It is an act that is written by the real estate agent and signed at his agency. It is the quickest option. In general, it allows you to sign the preliminary sales contract in the week following the end of the negotiation.
The promise to sell
It is signed at the notary. In general, it takes about two to four weeks between the end of the negotiation and the signing of the act.
The authentic act of sale
The time has finally come when the buyer will finally become the owner. In general, three months will pass between the signing of the preliminary contract and the authentic act of sale.
Why? Two elements come into play in particular.
Real estate credit
Get a real estate credit takes about three months. In order not to create unnecessary tension or put the sale at risk, notaries propose to include a period of two months in the preliminary contract to justify obtaining a loan. Then, an additional month for the release of funds. The process of setting up a mortgage is complex, it is important to respect the time required for it.
The right of urban pre-emption
This right enables the mayor's office to buy a property put up for sale as a priority, and to substitute itself for a private buyer. The mayor has two months to indicate whether he intends to exercise this right.
Time of the authentic act
Between the time the credit is drawn up and the urban pre-emption right to be purged, three months will pass between the signing of the preliminary contract and the signing of the authentic act of sale.
In conclusion: how long does it take to become an owner?
Once the negotiation is complete, it will take you about three and a half to four months to become a homeowner. For the research phase, I gave you an average time of two months, which can sometimes be longer if your research is complex.
However, it can be considered that an average of six months will be necessary to devote before becoming the happy owner of your home.
After several months of research (in a very targeted neighborhood), I decided to call on Talk to me about Paris to get out of this spiral of visits that were not successful. An investment that proved to be very effective since I made an offer at the end of the 5th visit.
Great experience with Talk to me about Paris. Patrick is a professional who accompanies his clients very well in the search for their future place to live. Very attentive, he creates a favourable environment that encourages exchanges with the various stakeholders.
The agency was able to perfectly identify our needs and found us the apartment that ticked all the boxes in a few days and at first glance when we had been looking for several months. Beyond efficiency: professionalism, expertise, availability and a lot of people.
Let's discuss together