If the price of rents continues to rise in the Paris region, a clear slowdown in the progression can be observed in 2021. This is due to the drop in purchasing power but also to the widespread use of teleworking since the pandemic.
Rents in the Paris region continued to rise in 2021, but at a slower pace, according to the Observatoire des loyers de l'agglomération parisienne (Olap) in its annual report published last August.
Rents for unfurnished properties in the private rental sector, the subject of the observatory's study, rose by 0.8% in 2021, compared to 1.2% in 2020 and 1.7% in 2019.
This is significantly lower than inflation, which is set at 2.1% in 2021.
On the other hand, Olap has observed "an upturn from July onwards, in line with the acceleration of price increases".
The slowdown was observed in Paris, the inner suburbs (Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis, Val-de-Marne) and the outer suburbs studied, which do not include the most rural areas of Ile-de-France or those far from the capital.
However, it is most marked in the city of Paris (+0.6%), which nevertheless remains much more expensive than the surrounding municipalities, with an average rent of 1,198 euros and 24.1 euros per square meter.
In the inner suburbs, the average rent for an unfurnished property was 932 euros and 17.6 euros per square meter.
In the inner suburbs, it was 854 euros and 14.9 euros per square meter.
The average surface area of rented housing was 53 square meters, and classically increases as one moves away from Paris: 50 m2 in Paris, 53 in the inner suburbs and 57 in the outer suburbs.
In 2021, a year still marked by the scarcity of students and tourists due to the coronavirus pandemic, Olap noted "an increase in vacancy and re-rental times, especially for small units".
Rents are regulated in Paris and in 18 municipalities in Seine-Saint-Denis, which set a maximum amount for rentals and limit rent increases when leases are renewed.
For 2022, Olap sees several signs "pointing in the direction of a moderation or even a decline in rents for re-rentals, but also, where appropriate, for stable tenants".
Among these signs, the decline in purchasing power, which could slow down landlords in raising rents.
The effects of the pandemic should also have an impact on rents, according to Olap, citing the "lesser attractiveness of the region for young workers" in certain sectors, and the development of telecommuting and distance learning.
If the attractiveness of the Paris region has been affected by the democratization of remote work, this trend is also felt in the low density of workers at La Défense, once prized by young people who are now deserting Europe's leading business district.