Immovable. Lyon, Saint-Étienne, Villeurbanne: is it more interesting to buy or rent in 2021? – Progress

Should you buy or rent your main residence? That is the question… In a recent study, Meilleurstaux.com, a mortgage broker, answers the question by analyzing and deciphering the opportunity to buy or rent an average surface area of ​​70 m² in the 36 largest cities in France .

The result indicates the number of months or years of ownership necessary for the purchase to cost less than the rental.

Five years and eight months: the average holding time to make the purchase of your main residence profitable in 2021

Taking into account the whole of the national territory, if you are the owner of a property of 70 m² in main residence, the purchase turns out to be more interesting than the rental after 5 years and 8 months of detention on average , i.e. 2 years and 3 months more than in 2020.

Beyond that, if you decide to remain a tenant of this type of property, you start to lose money.

“The Covid-19 crisis has not slowed down the attraction of the French for stone! The real estate market remained very dynamic during this period, indicates Maël Bernier, communications director of Meilleurtaux.com. Despite the drop in interest rates, demand remains particularly strong, which is why the average holding period has increased significantly compared to 2020 because overall, prices are on the rise, especially in medium-sized cities, and rents stable. “

Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux … durations which are considerably longer

The holding period necessary for the purchase to be more profitable than the rental increases more or less strongly in 33 cities out of the 36 cities studied. It is on the rise in six major cities in particular: Paris, Lyon, Montreuil, Boulogne-Billancourt, Bordeaux and Nantes. Thus, in Paris, it takes 7 more years than in 2020 (20 years instead of 13) for the purchase of a main residence to be “economically attractive”.

In Villeurbanne, the holding period goes from 2 years and 11 months in 2020 to 5 years and 6 months in 2021. But it is Lyon that records the strongest growth: the city adds 10 more years to achieve profitability, with 28 years in 2021 against 18 years in 2020. A phenomenon due to the sharp rise in prices recorded in this city which is experiencing the biggest development in France.

Strasbourg, Rennes, Angers … French people looking for medium-sized cities less than 2 hours from Paris

Compared to 2020, three cities less than 2 hours from Paris by TGV have seen their length of detention increase significantly. This is the case for Strasbourg, which goes from 4 years to 9 years and 2 months in 2021, of Rennes which has more than doubled, from 4 years and 1 month in 2020 to 11 years this year, and of Angers which sees its required length of detention practically quadruple.

It took 2 years and 5 months last year. This year, buyers from Angers should plan to own their property for 9 years and 6 months so that it starts to be more interesting than renting.

This means that if they resell it before this period, they will have lost money taking into account the study scenario.

“With the health crisis and the multiple confinements, medium-sized towns have been taken by storm by Ile-de-France residents in particular, in search of an additional room, greenery or even a more pleasant quality of life”, specifies Maël Bernier. of Meilleurtaux.com.

Grenoble, Saint-Étienne, Mulhouse … 2021, the revenge of medium-sized cities

Buying real estate remains a city of refuge: more than half of French cities have a holding period of less than three years, as in Dijon (2 years), Besançon (2 years and one month) or Metz (2 years and 6 months ).

For a household wishing to settle in Perpignan (10 months of detention in 2021, against 11 months in 2020), Grenoble and Saint-Étienne (1 year and 6 months, against 1 year and 5 months) or Mulhouse (1 year and 8 months, compared to 1 year and 2 months), it is always particularly interesting to buy, the property being profitable in less than two years. The economic situation remains particularly favorable in medium-sized towns.

An additional advantage to the purchase: “In the event of resale if the seller realizes a capital gain, the latter is not taxable,” notes Maël Bernier. Any additional cost can therefore be quickly erased. “