The prices of old properties are catching up with those of New Developments

 10 years ago the price differential between a brand new apartment and an old one was usually 25%; the latter being the cheaper of the two. However, in the last few years these prices have been converging at an alarming rate so much so that now in Yvelines according to the Chambre of Notaires of Ille de France the difference in price between the two is now as little as tens of Euros compared with 17% two years ago! A representative of the developers Nexity who builds nearly 10,000 homes across France per year is quoted as saying that the gap between the two is now around 6%.

Michel Mouillart a professor at the University of Paris-X has studied this phenomenon very closely and commented that if these trends continued then the price of old buildings could soon overtake the price of new developments. He concluded that the worrying thing about this was that the prices in the long term will fall into balance with the difference returning to 25% once again, stinging anyone who has over-paid for an old apartment.

The advice given is to compare property prices in the same area and only buy an old apartment if the price is 25% below that of a new one in the same area. If the gap is smaller than this then the advice is to think hard about your purchase or negotiate.