Over the past year, the real estate situation has turned around. If you are looking to invest, this is an interesting time to position yourself. Because, in addition to lower prices, you will also benefit from a wider offer. “Since mid-2023, investors have almost all disappeared,” sighs Clément Chaillet, director of the AJP agency in Bordeaux. Better yet, with the Pinel system, you will build up assets while benefiting from a tax reduction.
Provided you purchase before the end of the year, you will benefit from a tax boost, subject to the overall cap of 10,000 euros per year. Until December 31, two Pinel mechanisms coexist, with one thing in common: they concern the purchase of new housing rented for a certain period to households who respect resource conditions, in return for capped rents. If these criteria are respected, with “classic” Pinel, the tax reduction is respectively 9%, 12% and 14% of the purchase price – within the limit of 5,500 euros per square meter and 300,000 euros. –, depending on whether the rental is for six, nine or twelve years.
With Pinel +, it amounts to, respectively, 12%, 18% or 21%. But to be eligible for the latter, programs must respect strict environmental standards and meet minimum comfort standards, particularly in the area of living space and outdoor space. Only properties located in a City Policy Priority District (QPPV), and which are therefore a little more risky, are exempt from these latest rules.
The importance of location
First tip before investing: don’t focus on tax savings alone. Because, “for a lessor, the success of a real estate transaction is essentially due to the choice of location,” recalls Anne Vestu, director of the LFI-Cleunay agency in Rennes. The two Pinel schemes are eligible in three zones: Abis (Paris and inner suburbs) where they are very unprofitable, A (greater Parisian suburbs, certain metropolises and their first suburbs) and B1 (medium-sized towns, suburbs of large metropolises, as well as certain seaside towns or mountain resorts).
On October 3, a decree reclassified agglomerations by moving cities from B1 to A. This is for example the case of Annecy, Biarritz, Bordeaux, Dourdan, La Rochelle, Strasbourg, Tassin-la-Demi-Lune , Toulouse, etc. These municipalities have thus seen their average rate of profitability increase, since the applicable rent ceilings have been raised. Cities also went from B2 or C to B1, thus becoming eligible. This is the case for Besançon, Brest, Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, Dunkirk, Evreux, Le Mans, Lorient, Troyes and Vannes. Whatever your choice, don’t buy too expensive, that is, not more than 30% above the price of the quality old one in the city. Also check that the rent ceilings are consistent with local reality.
The three-room apartment, flagship product
Be careful, due to a lack of buyers, more and more promoters are postponing their programs or giving up on launching them. However, “the Pinel tax reduction will only apply if the final deed of sale is signed before January 1, 2025”, specifies Christophe Chaillet, director of heritage engineering at the CCF. To avoid missing out, opt for a definitively launched program rather than pre-marketing. Additional advantage, “for those delivered within the year, certain promoters offer investors the benefit of substantial price reductions”, notes Pierre Brunet, founder of Alter Invest.
If you have a sufficient budget, choose a three-room apartment. “Historically, this is the typology of apartments most present in builders’ stock,” notes Franck Vignaud, director of the Real Estate Laboratory. By purchasing one of the latest lots, you will be able to negotiate an additional discount or obtain advantages – second parking, equipped kitchen, transfer tax coverage, etc. These little extras will allow you to rent more quickly and will also provide you with a – slight – additional return.
.