One of the Prime Minister’s promises has already been made in the past.
This is a measure that has gone under the radar, as the debate has become so polarized between the New Popular Front and the National Rally. However, there is nothing trivial about it, both in its subject matter and its formulation. Faced with the housing difficulties encountered by the French, proposals are pouring in. Build more, regulate rents… but not only that! One of the promises made also concerns access to property.
While the real estate market is gradually relaxing, thanks to a drop in borrowing rates, the presidential majority wishes to unblock the situation a little further by using an often criticized lever: “notary fees”. This misnomer corresponds to the amount to be paid in addition to the purchase price of the home at the time of the transaction. This includes the fees of notaries for completing the papers but, above all, a tax collected by the departments on each real estate transaction. On average, these costs correspond, for new properties, to 2 or 3% of the price paid for the property, and to 7 to 8% for old properties.
During the presentation of the presidential majority’s program for the legislative elections, Gabriel Attal promised to modify the rules on the subject. The Prime Minister has undertaken to exempt from notary fees all people making their first purchase, if it does not exceed 250,000 euros. For a person or a couple buying, this would therefore represent up to 20,000 euros in savings (notary fees for a purchase of 250,000 euros in old property). This could therefore be good news for buyers, who would therefore have to borrow less from the bank. Very often, these “notary fees” are paid by the contribution made at the time of credit.
If this promise is undoubtedly the most surprising on the part of the executive, it is striking because it is not unprecedented. Before Emmanuel Macron and Renaissance, another party, far politically from that of the President of the Republic, had made the same commitment. This is Reconquest, through the voice of Eric Zemmour, during the 2022 presidential election.
At the time, the former editorialist declared, on the set of France 2, want to exempt first-time buyers from notary fees, for a purchase up to 250,000 euros. A proposal which sparked an outcry because it was formulated by the then candidate as a response to the housing difficulties of young people. However, this did not really address the subject of precariousness.
At this moment, the Montaigne Institute had quantified the proposal: between 4.5 and 7 billion euros less per year in the State coffers, allowing around 700,000 buyers to save, on average, 7,300 euros.