Rental returns in Paris are disappointing

The good news is that if you have an apartment in Paris you will have no trouble letting it. Demand outstrips supply, the main reason that rents are not higher being that French rental contracts are often long-term and there are legal restrictions on raising rents during the contract.

However gross rental yields from apartments in Paris are poor, at around 4.2% for small apartments and 3.9% for big apartments (however it is fair to say that our Paris yields results arguably may not reflect yields in less desirable locations, which are likely to be higher, because our sample focuses on Paris' high-end city centre).

The price of a 120 sq. m. apartment in these locations is around EUR 970 per sq. m., or EUR 90.1 per sq. ft. This year, we did not find a big price-difference between smaller and larger apartments.

The average monthly rent ranges from EUR 32 to EUR 35 per sq. m., or EUR 3.8 to EUR 3.25 per sq. ft. Smaller apartments tend to rent for proportionately more.

Round trip transaction costs are high on residential property in France. See our French residential property transaction costs analysis and our Transaction costs in France compared to other countries.