House prices in France fell again in the second quarter of 2026, but the latest figures show a housing market moving at very different speeds across the country.
Prices for existing homes declined by 1% between the first and second quarters, according to figures from France’s national statistics office INSEE based on property transaction data from the Notaires de France.
The decline followed a smaller 0.2% fall in the first quarter. Prices were 0.8% lower than a year earlier by the end of June.
The national decline, however, masks significant differences between houses and apartments and between individual cities and regions.
Houses have fallen more than flats
The latest data show that houses have experienced a sharper correction than apartments.
Over the year to Q2 2026, prices for existing houses fell 1.3%, while prices for flats were almost unchanged, declining by just 0.1%.
The quarterly figures show a similar pattern. House prices dropped 1.3% between Q1 and Q2, compared with a 0.7% decline for flats.
The difference is even clearer outside the Paris region.
In provincial France, existing-home prices fell 1.2% over the quarter and were down 1% from a year earlier. House prices declined 1.3% annually, while flat prices fell 0.3%.
This suggests that the national headline does not describe a uniform downturn. The experience of buyers and sellers depends heavily on the type of property and where it is located.
Paris and other cities buck the national trend
Paris has proved more resilient than many other parts of the country.
Although prices for existing homes across Île-de-France fell 0.6% between Q1 and Q2, Paris flat prices were 0.6% higher than a year earlier.
Across Île-de-France, flats were also 0.3% more expensive annually, despite the quarterly decline. House prices in the region were weaker, falling 1.5% over the year.
Other parts of France have also recorded gains.
Flat prices in Marseille were 2.2% higher than a year earlier, while house prices in the Lille metropolitan area increased 2.1%. Existing-home prices in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur were also 0.2% higher annually.
At the same time, flat prices in Lyon fell 1.9% and those in Hauts-de-France declined 1.5%.
The divergence shows why national averages can hide substantial differences in local housing conditions.
Property sales have stabilised
The price declines have not been accompanied by another major fall in transaction activity.
Around 958,000 existing homes were sold in the 12 months to the end of June 2026.
That compares with 953,000 transactions at the end of March and 952,000 at the end of December, indicating that annual sales volumes have remained broadly stable during the first half of the year.
The stabilisation follows a prolonged period of weaker activity. Transaction volumes had fallen steadily from 2022 before beginning to recover towards the end of 2024 and through 2025.
The latest figures suggest that the recovery in sales has levelled off rather than continuing at the same pace.
Political and economic uncertainty weigh on the market
The reasons for the weaker prices are less straightforward.
French property professionals have pointed to wider economic and political uncertainty, including the impact of geopolitical tensions and uncertainty ahead of France’s 2027 presidential election.
The market is therefore being affected by more than simply the balance between homes for sale and prospective buyers.
Financing conditions and household purchasing power also matter. Earlier warnings from French property agencies have pointed to mortgage affordability and economic uncertainty as factors holding back potential buyers.
That helps explain why transaction volumes can stabilise without producing a broad recovery in prices.
A fragmented market rather than a nationwide collapse
The latest figures do not point to a uniform collapse in French property values.
Instead, they show a market undergoing a modest but uneven correction.
Houses are performing worse than flats, provincial markets are generally weaker than Paris, and some cities continue to record annual price increases despite the national decline.
That distinction is important for understanding the direction of the French housing market.
The overall 1% quarterly fall is significant enough to show that the recovery remains fragile, but the continued stability in transaction volumes and stronger performance in some urban markets suggest that conditions vary considerably from one part of France to another.
For buyers and sellers, the national figure is therefore only part of the story. Local demand, property type and financing conditions are increasingly important in determining how individual markets are performing.
France’s housing market enters the second half of 2026 with prices still under pressure, but without a single trend applying across the entire country.
The next set of data will show whether the recent declines deepen or whether the stabilisation in sales begins to feed through into a more balanced market.
