The 2025 budget of France could lead to an increase in the prices of real estate transactions in certain territories due to a change on essential costs.
Bad news for all people who are planning a real estate purchase in the coming months. Although the market finally seems to be experiencing a relative lull, with interest rates and prices overall down at the start of the year, one of the measures of the finance law for 2025 could increase the cost of acquiring real estate.
To relieve and support the budgetary balance of the departments, whose finances have been particularly atrophied since the abolition of the housing tax on the main residences, the finance law provides indeed The increase in the ceiling of the departmental rate of transfer duties for consideration of 0.5 points, bringing it to a maximum of 5 %.
These taxes, improperly called “notaries costs” in everyday language, correspond to registration and land advertising rights on real estate transactions. Whenever a property changes ownership and this transfer is accompanied by a price (for consideration), “transfer rights” are applied to the sale prices and paid by the buyer.
The product of transfer rights for consideration (DMTO) mainly returns to the departments, although an additional municipal tax can be set up by the municipalities. The overall rate of DMTOs is therefore composed of the sum of the rates voted by the different categories of local authorities, and is generally Between 2 and 3 % of the sale price for new purchases, and between 7 and 8 % of the sale price on old goods.
The departmental rate of DMTOs cannot normally be less than 1.20 % or more than 4.50 %and it is precisely this ceiling which is noted on April 1, 2025 until March 31, 2028. Thus the departments that wish (it is a possibility, not an obligation) will be able to vote an increase of 0.5 No of these taxes, which will apply to all real estate transactions made from their territory from next April.
Concretely, a 0.5 point increase in the overall rate of DMTOs will result in an increase of € 500 per tranche of € 100,000 in the sale price of a property. This sum may seem low at first glance, but reported to the real amounts of real estate transactions, it will increase the note of a few thousand euros, which will be added to the annexed costs already significant as part of the acquisition of a housing .
However, the departments have the possibility of voting a reduction or a total exemption from the DMTOs for first-time buyers, that is to say households which for the first time carry out the purchase of a main residence. To avoid any unpleasant surprises, people who are considering a real estate purchase this year must monitor the deliberations taken by the Departmental Council on which the property which interests them depends, in order to anticipate this possible raising of “notaries”.