The phenomenon manifests itself from the first stages of the purchasing journey: 55% of those questioned say they have already felt illegitimate when visiting a property.
A feeling that Clara, 34, in a relationship and on a permanent contract, knows well, becoming the owner of a two-room apartment in the Paris region six months ago, after several years of hesitation and what we now call “real estate anxiety”.
“On paper, everything came together”
And she is not the only one to feel this fear when faced with a real estate project: according to the survey, 31% of respondents fear above all making the wrong choice. For Clara, this fear was reinforced in a less favorable context than before. Between higher interest rates, fear of co-ownership charges and unforeseen work, “I was afraid that buying would impoverish me even before building up assets“, she confides.
Like 39% of those questioned, Clara also feared discovering hidden defects after the purchase, revealing a diffuse fear of the unexpected and lack of control. Added to this financial worry was a very concrete anxiety linked to administration. “Just my annual tax return is already a source of stress. Become an owner, with property tax, the burdens and procedures, gave me the impression of adding additional anxiety“, she explains.
Fear of error and feeling of irreversibility
“It wasn’t a question of desire, but of anxiety. Buying, for me, meant committing to 25 years, giving up a form of freedom and above all risking making an irreversible mistake“, she summarizes. In an unstable economic and political context, this fear is far from isolated. Bad location, underestimated costs, heavy work to be planned… Buying is often experienced as a decision that is difficult to reverse, unlike renting, which is considered more flexible and reassuring.
Paradoxically, this anxiety coexists with another reality: continuing to pay high rent without building up assets also represents a cost in the long term. But for many, the perceived risk of buying remains greater than that of remaining a tenant.
After more than four years of hesitation, Clara decided to seek support from experts. “I took the time to discuss with professionals and obtain a clear and quantified vision“, she explains. Owner of a two-room apartment in the Paris region for six months, she concludes: “The anxiety has not disappeared, but it no longer drives my decisions.»
According to INSEE, the share of households that own their main residence remained generally stable between 2022 and 2025, around 57%, with a slight increase in 2025. A stagnation which reflects still constrained access to property, despite strong aspirations.
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