During preparation of the Paris local housing programme -PLH-, a survey was conducted in March 2010 of property developers who had sold housing programmes in Paris in the course of 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. The objective was to know more about the characteristics of housing on offer and to ascertain the profile of buyers.
The survey covered 1 448 dwellings, representing roughly 60% of properties put up for sale during that period (61%). It highlights the small number of purchases by institutional investors (2%) and the overwhelming majority of individual buyers (98%). Amongst the latter, there are an almost equal number of households buying their principal residence and investors. Most investors take advantage of tax exemption measures such as theScellier, De Robien or Borloo schemes.
The housing stock on offer includes a large proportion of small units (53% of one or two-room apartments). Housing units of less than 3 rooms are generally purchased for investment purposes, whereas larger units of 3 or more rooms are mainly bought as principal residences. Among those purchasing their principal residence, there are a minority of first-time buyers (34%) and a majority of households which already own property, many of whom already live in Paris or the Paris region.