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A real recovery that requires greater precision from sellers
The French real estate market enters 2026 in a paradoxical situation. Transactions are picking up again, credit rates are stabilizing, professionals are regaining activity, but sellers still cannot reason as if they were in an euphoric market.
The SNPI / Xerfi economic outlook observatory published in April 2026, carried out among 550 real estate agents and property managers, shows a real recovery in the 1st quarter of 2026, but a cautious, selective recovery that remains highly dependent on the initial asking price.
For owners considering selling an apartment in Paris or in high-end markets, the signal is clear: the market is becoming active again, but it does not forgive positioning mistakes.
Fairway Luxury Real Estate, specialist in high-end real estate in Paris, analyzes the lessons from the beginning of 2026 and their concrete consequences for sellers.
The turnover of real estate agents and property managers increased by +8.5% in the 1st quarter of 2026 compared with the 1st quarter of 2025. This is a solid figure, confirming the recovery that began in 2025.
But it must be read with nuance. In the 4th quarter of 2025, growth reached +14.5%. The market therefore remains positively oriented, but the pace is slowing.
In other words, we are no longer in the blocked market of 2023 or early 2024, but we have not returned either to a market where everything sells quickly at any price.
The interesting point is that the annual trend continues to improve, with average growth of +8.4% over 12 months. This data suggests a deeper recovery than a simple temporary rebound.
One of the drivers of this improvement lies in the stabilization of mortgage credit. After the peak reached in 2024, rates have gradually eased. The average effective rate for fixed-rate mortgage loans of 10 to 20 years reached 3.36% in the 1st quarter of 2026.
This is an important development for buyers. A more readable rate makes it possible to recalculate a budget, relaunch a project that had been put on hold, and return to viewings.
But lower rates are not enough to erase market constraints. Lending conditions remain cautious. Banks are financing, but they analyze files rigorously.
For a seller, this means that receiving an offer is not enough. It is also necessary to ensure the solidity of the financing, the down payment, the consistency of the financing plan and the seriousness of the timeline. In practice, a solvent, well-prepared buyer is often worth more than a buyer who looks attractive on paper but is fragile in their financing.
The volume of transactions linked to sales increased by +10% in the 1st quarter of 2026 compared with the 1st quarter of 2025. This is one of the most encouraging signals in the document.
Turnover from sales activity increased by +9.5%. This near alignment between volumes and turnover shows that the restart is mainly based on a renewed number of transactions, more than on a strong rise in prices.
The document also specifies that sale prices are still perceived as downward-oriented by a majority of professionals. The decline is considered more marked for family homes and mid-sized properties.
This is probably the most important lesson for sellers: the market is recovering, but recovery does not automatically mean prices are rising again.
In Paris, especially in high-end segments, the most sought-after properties are still capable of creating tension: high floor, light, open views, outdoor space, coherent family layout, recognized address, well-maintained co-ownership, good energy performance diagnosis. But more imperfect properties must integrate a more precise pricing strategy from the start.
An apartment can be rare, elegant, well located, and still fail to trigger an offer if the asking price exceeds buyers’ real perception.
SNPI and Xerfi note that 38% of professionals observe an increase in the number of viewings needed to conclude a sale, compared with only 15% who observe a decrease.
This data is very revealing. It shows that buyers are back, but that they compare more. They visit several properties, take time to discuss the price, come back with technical questions, consult their bank, their relatives, and sometimes an architect.
For a seller, this changes the marketing method. It is no longer enough to publish a listing with beautiful photos. A complete and defensible file must be built.
This increase in the number of necessary viewings should not be seen only as a problem. It is also market information.
If a property attracts viewings but does not trigger any offer, the objections must be analyzed precisely: price, works, floor, layout, co-ownership, DPE, noise, absence of elevator, lack of bedrooms, taxation, charges. The wrong response would be to wait passively. The right response is to measure, correct and relaunch.
The document shows an interesting geographical difference. In sales volume, the regions are progressing more than Île-de-France in the 1st quarter of 2026. Sales increased by +11% to +15% in the regions, compared with +6% to +10% in Île-de-France.
But expectations are more encouraging in Île-de-France for the following quarter. 38% of professionals in Île-de-France expect an increase in their sales activity, compared with 22% who expect a decline.
For Paris, this combination is interesting. The market has not yet regained perfect fluidity, but signs of improvement exist. Buyers are making contact again. Solid files are returning. Sellers who had postponed their project are starting to reassess their timeline.
On the rental market, the dynamic remains positive. Turnover from rental activity increased by +5.5%, while the volume of rental transactions rose by +3.5%. The document also notes that rents continue to rise.
This rental tension has several consequences. For some owners, it reinforces the idea of keeping the property for rental rather than selling.
For others, it improves the perception of an apartment among investors, especially when it is a well-located asset, easy to rent, with good medium-term liquidity.
But here again, the analysis must remain precise. In Paris, gross yield is not enough. The DPE, rent control, charges, co-ownership works, taxation and the quality of the tenant are determining parameters.
The beginning of 2026 confirms one thing: the market is no longer frozen. This is good news for sellers. But this recovery is cautious enough to require a more professional method.
A seller must now avoid 3 common mistakes.
Selling is becoming more technical. This is not bad news for well-supported sellers. On the contrary, in a selective market, the difference is made through preparation, precision and the ability to intelligently defend value.
At Fairway Luxury Real Estate, our reading of the market at the beginning of 2026 is as follows: buyers are returning, but they are returning with greater expectations.
They have integrated the rise in rates from previous years. They know that some sellers have had to adjust their expectations. They compare available properties. They are sensitive to the quality of the layout, light, works, DPE, coherence of the price per square meter and the real rarity of the property.
This does not mean that beautiful apartments must be sold off. It means that they must be positioned with precision.
For a high-end apartment in Paris, the strategy should not consist of displaying the highest possible price “to see”. It should consist of determining the most ambitious price that the market can reasonably accept, then organizing a marketing process capable of quickly concentrating the right buyers.
This is particularly true in the sought-after neighborhoods of western Paris, around Parc Monceau, Ternes, Courcelles, Villiers, the 8th arrondissement, northern 16th or well-connected family sectors. Demand exists, but it focuses first on properties whose value is readable.
The 1st quarter of 2026 confirms the gradual return of the real estate market. Transactions are picking up again, rates are stabilizing, professional activity is progressing. But this recovery remains cautious.
The market is no longer a market of total waiting. It is not yet an euphoric market. It is a market of discernment.
For sellers, this is probably the best context in several quarters to put a project back in motion, provided it is done methodically: serious valuation opinion, defensible price, complete file, qualitative communication, rapid analysis of feedback and adjustment strategy if necessary.
In a market like that of 2026, selling well does not only mean finding a buyer. It means creating the conditions for the right buyer to understand, accept and secure the value of the property.
Fairway Luxury Real Estate analysis
"In a market like that of 2026, selling well does not only mean finding a buyer. It means creating the conditions for the right buyer to understand, accept and secure the value of the property."
Fairway Luxury Real Estat
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