The holiday home market is finally growing in the Pays de Loire and the Grand Est. Conversely, in the most popular regions such as Normandy and Provence-Alpes-Côtes d’Azur, demand is falling.
Who said that a second home had to be located by the sea? In France, some areas are more attractive than others when it comes to buying a holiday home, with half of the regions accounting for 70% of demand. But in 2023, the traditionally most popular areas are a little less popular, according to figures from mortgage broker Pretto.
At the end of Covid, the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur and Normandy regions alone concentrated a quarter of searches for second homes. By the end of 2023, it was only 20%. Between 2021 and 2023, demand fell by 22% for the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur region, and by 17% for Normandy. This decline benefited other territories.
Buyers have turned in particular to the Pays de la Loire and the Grand Est, with respectively +29% and +26% of customers supported by Pretto in their search for a second home between 2021 and 2023. Next come Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (+20%), Hauts-de-France (+15%) and Brittany (+12%), again according to Pretto figures.
The regions that recorded the strongest increase are also those where average property prices are among the lowest. A phenomenon linked to the increase in the cost of credit over the past two years, which has weighed on buyers’ purchasing power. Overall demand for second homes had also slowed in 2022.
The return of second home buyers
But since the rate cuts have been underway, buyers are coming back. According to Pretto, demand for second homes picked up strongly in the summer of 2023, with a stabilisation at a high level even after the usual summer peak.
“The start of 2024 also confirms this upward trend, with a first quarter up more than 50% compared to the first quarter of 2023,” the broker explains in a press release.
The company is finally noting a return of foreign buyers. Since mid-2022, they had shunned second homes. But with the drop in rates, they are returning to levels close to 2021, around 12%.
They are on average richer than French buyers. According to Pretto, non-residents earn on average 80% more than a metropolitan borrower and the goods purchased are 65% more expensive and exceed on average the 530,000 euro mark.
Study conducted each year by the mortgage broker Pretto on a sample of approximately 100,000 clients per year. The figures mentioned correspond to clients who have submitted an application for a second home and are supported by Pretto in their search (without the project necessarily resulting in a purchase).