Real estate: in which city to buy according to your investor profile?

Depending on your risk appetite, your financial needs and means, some cities are much more interesting than others for a rental investment.

• 
  

  To safeguard
  

  
  
  

  Saved
  

Ancient real estate prices which have dropped from 10% to 15% in the past two years, credit rates that have fallen around 3% … The planets finally seem to be aligned to allow you to take the steps of rental investment. However, do not rush to buy a studio or a two-piece in the city where you live! This may not correspond to your Investor profilemore or less inclined to take the risk and prefer an immediate return or, on the contrary, the securing of an additional income for retirement. Without forgetting the width of your financial seat!

In a study published this Wednesday, June 11, the network of Guy Hoquet agencies and the Bien’ici real estate advertising portal identify three categories of cities, each corresponding to an investor profile: the good father, the first-investor and the experienced investor. Let’s start with large metropolises, where the rental market is very tense, with a demand for rentals much higher than the supply, such as Paris and Lyon. Admittedly, but rental profitability, which is equivalent to the rents collected for a year, relating to the purchase price of the property, is limited, due to the expensive real estate and the supervision of rents, which these two cities have experienced in recent years.

The “new” real estate investment vein: buy at half price, without credit or tenant

Low yield but guaranteed tenant

In the capital, where you have to pay more than 240,000 euros, on average, to acquire a studio of 21 square meters, the rental profitability such an investment is less than 4%. And it is limited to 3.43% for a two-piece paid nearly 470,000 euros. In Lyon, it does not reach 5%, more than 150,000 euros being necessary to buy a T1, a sum which climbs to almost 240,000 euros for a T2. On the other hand, the two largest cities in France display ratios of rental tension (relationship between the number of candidates for the rental and the rental offer) of 100 and 72, respectively. In other words, the risk of rental vacancy is minimal. An ideal placement for a “good father”, which prefers safety at yield. You still have to have the means …

In contrast, cities like Saint-Etienne, Perpignan and Limoges offer rental yields of around 7%, both for the studios and for the two-pieces. It is true that in Saint-Etienne, for example, the average budget to buy a studio or a two-room apartment does not exceed 65,000 euros and 70,000 euros, respectively. The catch is that the rental tension is zero in Saint-Etienne … Not easy to quickly find a tenant the day when yours leaves! It is barely higher in Limoges but is still at 30 in Perpignan for the two-room places, and 17 for the studios. As you can see, a rental investment in this type of cities is reserved for daring investors. And to those who invest for the first time and do not have much savings aside.

These Parisians sell their apartment at 50,000 euros per m2, a price of … departure

Good compromise between profitability, purchase price and rental voltage

Finally, Guy Hoquet and well here distinguish cities with a good compromise Between accessible purchase prices, attractive rental yield and correct rental voltage. Like Nîmes, Besançon or Metz, with rental yields of around 6% for studios, purchase prices of around 75,000 euros and rental voltage ratios between 9 and 17. We can also cite Montpellier, which offers a rental yield of 4.49% for a T2 and where rental tension is very high (74). All for an average budget of “only” 175,000 euros for a two-room apartment.

Without forgetting Marseille, Lille or Toulousewhich combine high rental tension and relatively reasonable purchase prices, between 170,000 and 190,000 euros for a two-room apartment. In Nice, voltage and rental profitability are certainly high but the prices per square meter are too! To reserve, therefore, to rather affluent investors.