Camille, quadra on the way to buy her first accommodation and to whom the banks offer loans over 20 or 25 years oldcannot come back. His father told him that when he had bought the family home, he had in debt over only 15 years. Yes but here it was another era, the mid -1980s, and real estate prices had not yet soared. The situation is quite different today, with Price of old housing multiplied by 2.6 Since 2000, according to an INSEE study published last November. Difficult, therefore, in 2025, to buy an apartment by borrowing over 15 years, especially in a city like Paris where the square meter exceeds 9,000 euros.
In April 2025, the average duration of real estate credits granted in France was also 249 months,, just over 20 years, compared to 245 months in March, according to the Crédit CSA Crédit Observatory. In April still, 69.1 % of housing loans granted in the country were over 20 years old, compared to 65.5 % in 2024. In a price context which already date back after the decrease in the last two years, and credit rate still greater than 3%,, “Borrowers have no choice but to extend the duration of their credit to maintain bearable monthly payments and respect the maximum debt rate of 35%” Licited by the High Council for Financial Stability, explains the Pretto broker.
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Lighter monthly payments but heavier interests
“Longer credit, with lower monthly payments, can help validate a loan request close to authorized limits. This is sometimes the case with first-time buyerswhose age authorizes a long -term loan, especially since their salary is likely to evolve favorably ”approves the financing center. Another scenario lending itself to a 25 -year loan, therental investment. “If you buy accommodation to rent it, you probably want the rent to cover the monthly reimbursement of your loan. We must therefore maintain this monthly payment at a reasonable level ”explains the financing center.
Take a concrete example. In May 2025, with a net monthly salary of 2,000 euros, it is possible to borrow 101,505 euros over 15 years, 125,085 euros over 20 years and 145,210 euros over 25 years, calculates Pretto. “The difference is significant: by going from 15 to 25 years, borrowing capacity increases by more than 44,000 euros !“, Underlines the broker. Reverse of the medal, if the lengthening of the duration makes it possible to borrow more, it increases on the other hand the total cost of the credit. For a bank, lending a cleaning over 25 years being by nature more risky than on durations of 15 or 20 years, it takes more interest. Thus, on the basis of the previous example, a credit of 101,505 euros over 15 years represents an interest charge of 24,495 euros for the borrower, according to Pretto. An amount that climbs to 43,070 euros for a loan over 20 years, then 65,200 euros for a credit over 25 years. Either, in the latter case, 40,705 euros in additional interest Compared to the loan over 15 years. But, taking into account the more than 44,000 euros in borrowing capacity allowed by the duration of 25 years, it remains more attractive than that over 15 years.
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Renegotiate your mortgage
To alleviate this drawback, you can possibly renegotiate the rate of your credit. Keeping in mind that the interest of such a renegotiation, with its bank or another, depends on three main factors. Starting with the gap between the rate to which you have subscribed to your loan and the one you hope to renegotiate, which must be at least one point, says Maël Bernier, director of communication of broker Better. Then you must be in the first third of the reimbursement period of your loan. Finally, the remaining capital must amount to at least 70,000 euros.
Three conditions that fulfill a priori borrowers who subscribed to a mortgage in the fall of 2023when the rates had exceeded 4%. At 3.20% on average over 20 years, the most common credit time, the rates of May 2025 are 1.3 to 1.5 points lower than their level from December 2023, when they oscillated between 4.5% and 4.7%.
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