Real estate: good news, buyers are finally back!

According to the Orpi agency network, the number of real estate transactions has clearly increased again at the end of 2024. An unexpected rebound, which could continue in 2025.

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Is the housing crisis finally behind us? Although it is still too early to say, the real estate market has finally been picking up in recent weeks. As proof, the Orpi network, which has more than 1,000 agencies in France, recorded an increase in the number of sales agreements signed in 2024 in its agencies of +12% compared to 2023. 35,761 transactions were in fact recorded by the Orpi network in 2024 nationally, compared to 31,927 the previous year, thanks in particular to a peak in activity observed during the months of November and December. Contrary to what was feared by a large number of real estate professionals, the political instability linked to the dissolution of the National Assembly in the summer of 2024 therefore did not have a significant impact on the property market. ‘real estate.

The increase in the number of sales agreements in 2024 was particularly marked in certain large cities, such as Toulouse (+35% over the last twelve months), but also Bayonne (+22%) or Strasbourg (+13%). “Buyers realized in 2024 that it was essential to lower their prices to hope to sell their goods, explains Guillaume Martinaud, president of the Orpi cooperative. The end of 2024 was marked by a long-awaited brightening. The return of buyers is explained in particular by the drop in credit rates combined with falling prices.” A sign that sellers are finally agreeing to lower their prices, buyers have negotiated on average a price drop of -5% in 2024, on housing marketed in the Orpi network.

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Real estate agents optimistic for 2025

It remains to be seen whether this improvement will continue in 2025. “We cannot have a lasting recovery of the real estate market without political stabilityannounces Guillaume Martinaud. We must remain cautious and continue to support households in their projects, taking into account economic and political developments.» Real estate professionals nevertheless remain optimistic since, according to a survey carried out by Orpi, nearly 70% of the group’s real estate agents declare themselves optimistic about the evolution of the market in 2025. Nevertheless, they remain more than 6 out of 10 to consider a year as unstable as 2024, faced with the many challenges linked to current economic and political conditions.