“A rather resilient market”: the real estate sector is doing well despite the international context

Real estate credit is doing well. According to the latest figures from the Banque de France, more than 12 billion euros of loans excluding renegotiation were signed for purchases of houses or apartments in March, or 9% more than in February (10.8 billion). A figure which marks the third consecutive month of increase.Â

For Sandrine Allonnier, spokesperson for the broker Vousfinancer, the situation is a godsend. “At Vousfinancer, we have intermediate credit production up 18% over this first quarter, therefore since the start of the year, compared to the year before which had been very good” analyzes the expert on RTL.

“On the figures from the Banque de France, we are also at more than 10%. It is clear that we have a rather resilient market,” continues the latter.

Low rates to attract consumers

Would the market have been immunized by the succession of crises and the persistence of political instability in France? Another hypothesis is that banks keep rates low in order to attract consumers. “We even have commercials on TV about banks which offer rates of 0.99% for first-time buyers, others which offer rates of 2.49% for all buyers,” explains Sandrine Allonnier.

The average interest rate on these new loans has stabilized at 3.22%. It was at 3.23% in February and stood at 3.20% a year earlier, in March 2025. The Banque de France has also noted a particular dynamic among buyers of a first property: since the start of 2025, the number of Loans granted to first-time buyers are increasing more quickly than that of all borrowers.

Threats continue to loom, notably inflation and rising rates. If the rise in prices continues, a rate increase from next month will become difficult to avoid, at the risk of breaking the current dynamic, whatever the intentions of the central bankers. And then the 2027 presidential election: real estate systematically suffers during election years.

A drop in credits between 2022 and 2024

Real estate loan amounts had decreased significantly between mid-2022 and early 2024, a period during which the European Central Bank (ECB) had gradually increased its key rates to fight inflation in Europe. These increases were then passed on to the interest rates on real estate loans. They have since declined slowly, in the wake of the ECB’s easing of key rates as inflation slows.

The consumer credit market also increased slightly in March, with a volume of 5.7 billion euros of loans granted compared to 5.6 in February and 5.5 in March 2025. The average rate of these consumer loans continued to increase. slight decline to settle at 6.33%, compared to 6.40% in February and 6.47% in March 2025.