Rental investment: should you buy new or old? The city by city response

More expensive than old, new real estate? Usually yes, but two years of real estate crisis have changed the situation somewhat. It really depends on the city where you want to invest.

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Fireplaces, moldings and creaking parquet floors or simplicity and functionality? When it comes to buying real estate, there are on the one hand the aficionados of “charm of the old” and, on the other, the fans of the new. But if these considerations are essential to guide you in the choice of your main residence, they are not to be taken into account in the case of a rental investment. Of course, you will have to decide between old and new but on the basis of much more rational criteria. Starting with the price, which generally argues for the former. New properties generally have higher prices.of the order of 20%, due to VAT and the need for the developer to pass on to the buyer the cost of land, new construction regulations and materials.

But the situation is starting to change after two years of real estate crisis. “New property prices have calmed down”emphasizes to Capital Pierre-Emmanuel Jus, deputy director of the rental investment platform Maslow.immo. According to the latest data from the Federation of Real Estate Developers, the average price of new apartments stagnated in the second quarter of 2024, compared to the same period of 2023, after several years of increase. And this average masks reductions of between 1.5% and 8.6% in certain urban areas.

1,000 euros per square meter for an energy renovation

“Today, you can buy new things only 10% more expensive than old ones, instead of the usual extra cost of 20 to 30%”assures Pierre-Emmanuel Jus. In the metropolis of Bordeaux, for example, the average price of a new apartment fell by 7.2% in the second quarter, falling to 4,474 euros per square meter. A price which is in the range of 4,400 to 5,000 euros per square meter estimated by MeilleursAgents for an old apartment. And we are not talking about properties on the outskirts of Bordeaux but about new programs located three tram stations from Bordeaux-Saint-Jean station. Like this three-room apartment of 70 square meters near the Brascassat park, which will be delivered at the end of 2025 and which is offered at 328,900 euros by Marignan Immobilier, or 4,698 euros per square meter. Not to mention the commercial offers that developers have been multiplying since the spring to sell off their stocks, with free notary fees and discounts of several thousand euros per room.

In addition to prices that have become more reasonable, new real estate has the advantage of not requiring work for several years and of displaying good energy performance. A hell of a saving, “an energy renovation costing on average 1,000 euros per square meter”underlines Pierre-Emmanuel Jus. Based on the prices of new and renovated old properties, coupled with the need for rental housing, Maslow.immo has developed a ranking of the five cities in France where it is more interesting to buy new properties than old properties. Bordeaux comes in second position in this list, behind Meyzieu, in eastern Lyon, and ahead of Montreuil, in Seine-Saint-Denis.

At the same time, the rental investment platform has produced a ranking of the five cities where renovated old real estate is more interesting than new. Lyon and Nice stand out. No surprise for Pierre-Emmanuel Jus because it is in “expensive cities” that the strategy consisting of buying discounted thermal strainers to resell them after work is most likely to pay off. In Lyon, an old apartment costs on average 4,600 euros per square meter, according to MeilleursAgents. Knowing that“an energy strainer trades between 17 and 30%I can buy one at 3,000 euros per square meter in Lyon. Even if I carry out an energy renovation at 1,000 euros per square meter, I will make a good resale profit”analyzes Pierre-Emmanuel Jus.

While waiting for resale, the number of rentals available in Lyon is so low compared to demand that“it is possible to increase the price of rent and, therefore, profitability”he adds. An increase however contained in Lyon, the city experimenting rent control. This is not the case for Pessac, near Bordeaux, which rises to second place in the “top 5” of towns where an investment in old property proves more interesting than the purchase of a new property. .