The beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic meant an end to freedom and liberty of the Parisians. Paris being one of the most affected regions was under high surveillance by the government. By the end of 2020 the Great Paris region became a victim to lockdowns, curfews and other standard restrictions by the government.
Paris is considered to be the hub of hosting concerts, finest restaurants/museums and different cultural activities, all of which came to a halt which led to Parisians being frustrated in their 50m2 apartments. Masks were obligatory almost everywhere which made it hard for the Parisians to get fresh air. As Parisians couldn’t see a ray of hope for things to get normalized, many city dwellers decided to flee the city to the suburbs in search of more space, fresh air and greenery. Since a majority of people working in different sectors had the luxury of working from home, staying in the city was no longer an obligation to their companies as no physical presence was required anymore. This had a direct impact on the Parisian real estate market as the prices in the Parisian suburbs spiked in 2020.
According to “Meilleurs Agents”, a french company specialized in property price analysis in France, the properties in Paris saw a drop in price by 0.1 percent which was contrary to the 9.9 percent rise in the past 2 years and 31.4 percent registered for the past 5 years. The region of Val-de-Marne, a southeastern suburb of Paris, saw the highest increase in price by 3.9 percent.
The development of Parisian transport for the past 10 years has been significant and it also had a direct impact on the Parisian real estate market. The commute has been made easy for people living in the suburbs as the past 10 years have seen a constant development of regional trains, extended metro lines and even buses which makes it convenient for people living in the suburbs and working in the city.
There is still uncertainty about what 2021 holds in for the real estate sector in Paris as the situation has not evolved much even with the introduction ofvaccines.
“Is it worth living in Paris anymore?” That is a question many Parisians are asking themselves.
– Written by Arvind SETHI
