Real Estate : Paris becomes the most attractive city in the world

For the first time, the French capital is at the top of the Barnes real estate agency network for its wealthy clientele.

In prestige real estate, more and more sales now exceed 30,000 euros per sq.m. in Paris.

According to the annual study published by the Barnes Group, Paris has become the most sought-after city by the world’s wealthy people, ahead of London, New York and Hong Kong. It has gained 5 places compared to 2019 when it was in 5th position. The study focuses on demand from HNWI (“high-net-worth individuals”, with assets between 1 and 30 million dollars) and UHNWI (for “ultra high-net-worth individuals”, with assets of more than 30 million dollars), a market of 265,000 people worldwide, according to the firm Wealth X.

“The list of the most sought-after cities was thus established by cross-referencing the financial aspect, the emotional/affective appeal and the practical aspects. Based on these indicators, some cities have gained or lost places in the ranking compared to 2018,” Barnes details in his report. This “ranking of the most sought-after cities by international clients is intended to assist HNWIs in their decision to purchase a prestigious property,” Barnes adds.

What carries Paris is above all its fundamentals. There is the economic health, but also the historical and tourist interest,” Barnes stresses. All the districts, even the most affordable ones, offer freestone buildings. These famous Haussmann-style buildings attract foreign investors. While historically prestigious real estate was concentrated in the 6th, 7th, 8th and 16th districts, the centre of gravity has rebalanced, Barnes notes. For these beautiful Haussmann-style buildings can be found in almost every district of Paris. And this generalized attraction obviously carries the Parisian prices.

If globally we have crossed the 10,000 euros per sqm in Paris, in the prestige real estate more and more sales exceed 30,000 euros per sqm. This is still quite “affordable” for the wealthy.