The real estate crisis in the Alps-Maritimes is taking a break, The situation in the housing market is touched upon.

In Nice and Cannes, real estate sales are stagnant, both in new buildings and in secondary housing. This is also reflected in the rental market. A very worrying situation for real estate professionals. Caused by rising interest rates, this crisis situation in the real estate market is rapidly spreading across France. In Alpe-Maritimes, although somewhat belatedly, it has now established itself. In Alpes-Maritimes, sales fell by 19% in secondary real estate and by up to -42% in the new-build market over the year.

According to real estate agent Gregory Piscitello of the M agency in Nice, the situation is worrying: "We are seeing the opposite trend. Not so long ago we had few properties for sale and many buyers, but now there are fewer and fewer buyers and more sellers". The decrease in buyers is due to loan denials, and when approved, higher interest rates result in higher monthly payments. Stagnation is especially evident in the real estate market for "first time buyers": "for example, such an object, a 65-meter apartment on Corniche Fleury for 300,000 euros, is a typical request for a young couple with or without children. This property used to sell quickly, but now the demand for it has decreased. The indicator for us is the telephone, and now the overall situation is not very active," concludes Gregory Piscitello. Today it is a danger for our profession, because we nevertheless have functioning costs, advertising costs ... There are already agencies in the neighborhood that are closing down, the market is under strain. Gregory Piscitello, real estate agent in Nice.

When to expect prices to fall in Alpe-Maritim? If property prices have fallen in the whole of France this year, this is not the case for Alpe-Maritim, at least on average. The price per square meter has increased by 8%, amounting to €4710 in the first half of 2022 and €5085 in the first half of 2023. This increase is due to "secondary buyers" who come with cash payments, explains real estate observatory Alp-Maritim.

In addition to the striking decrease in sales in new buildings (-42%), there is also a marked increase in prices, +5% over the year, reaching €6667 per square meter. "Not only is there a structural shortage of supply in our region, which has persisted for many years, but we are also seeing a simultaneous decline in demand, resulting in an unprecedented crisis. And the reduction in building permits is not conducive to optimism for the coming months: building permit refusals, blockages, appeals are all obstacles that are detrimental to the profession," analyzes Cyril Messica, president of the Real Estate Observatory.

In light of the current situation, the alarm bells are ringing: it affects the dynamics of our region. If we become less attractive, if we cannot provide housing for those who develop the Côte d'Azur, it will not work. Cyril Messika, President of the Real Estate Observatory.

The website "SeLoger" has presented its results. Nice is now the most expensive city after Paris. In France, prices fell by 0.4%, while in Nice prices rose by 7.9% over the year. However, the study notes that the differences between the districts are significant: €8,170 per square meter in Mont-Boron, while in the Pasteur neighborhood the price is €1934. In Cannes, price growth is more significant than in Nice, +8.5% in the last twelve months. The study concludes, "given these price increases, the city of Nice seems to be a good compromise among these three cities when looking at the purchasing power of a couple of "secondary buyers" with incomes in Nice. Indeed, they will be able to buy a 55 sqm apartment in the city, while in Cannes or Antibes it will only be 47 or 50 sqm respectively!"