Real estate: at the start of the 2026 school year, what strategy to sell, transfer or enhance your property?
The French real estate market has regained volume without regaining its carefreeness. At the start of the 2026 school year, sellers, buyers and families must arbitrate between price, financing, works, taxation and transmission. For MyFactotum, the subject is no longer just about selling a property: it is about choosing the right real estate strategy at the right time.
Les chiffres à garder en tête
949,000 sales in old properties
Over the twelve months to the end of May 2026, the Notaires de France recorded around 949,000 transactions, i.e. +5.7% over one year. The recovery exists, but it is slowing down significantly.
· Prices of old properties: around +0.2% year-on-year in the 1st quarter of 2026, so no widespread recovery in prices.
· Real estate loan: average rate around 3.30% in July 2026; average term of 253 months.
· ECB: key rates maintained on 23 July 2026, with no promise of a rapid cut.
· French inflation: 2.1% in July 2026.
🧭 FEATURE OF THE MONTH: STRATEGY BEFORE PRICE
1. A market that forces better preparation for the sale
The return of transactions does not mean that all properties sell easily. Buyers are more cautious, compare more and negotiate. Properties that combine a good location, a coherent presentation, a correct energy performance and a controlled overall budget remain the most sought-after.
The MyFactotum Gaze
A seller should not only ask: "How much is my property worth?" He should ask: "How will a buyer finance this property, its work and his life project?"
2. An offer must be looked at with its financing
· Seller: favor a truly financeable offer rather than a theoretically higher but fragile offer.
· Buyer: have your borrowing capacity updated before taking a position.
· Advisor: obtain a recent bank certificate or validation when the file justifies it.
3. Work must be integrated into the reasoning
How much does it cost? – order of magnitude to be updated by quote
🏛 INHERITANCE, LIFE ANNUITY, TRANSMISSION: THE PROPERTY IS ONLY PART OF THE MATTER
Succession: deciding before the emergency decides
In an inheritance, the property often concentrates several difficulties at the same time: joint ownership, taxation, maintenance, geographical distance and different expectations of the heirs. The useful support consists of putting each option back on the table: keeping, renting, selling, buying back the rights of a co-heir or organising a different transfer.
Case study
Three children inherit a house. One wants to keep it, the other two want to sell. Before any sale on the market, the value of the property, any balance, costs, taxation and the financing capacity of the person who wishes to keep the property must be quantified.
Life annuity: a wealth tool before being a real estate product
· Occupied life annuity: keeping in the premises and transforming part of the assets into cash/income.
· Free life annuity: possible solution when the seller no longer occupies the property and wishes to receive an annuity and bouquet.
· Forward sale: price paid according to a defined schedule, without life contingency.
· Bare ownership: a tool to be studied when the conservation of a usufruct is part of the heritage project.
MyFactotum advice
Who should be protected? What level of liquidity is needed? Should the use of the property be maintained? What taxation should be anticipated? What time horizon? These questions determine the strategy.
🎯 WHAT WE RECOMMEND FOR THE START OF THE 2026 SCHOOL YEAR
For a seller
· Have the estimate updated from very recent comparable transactions.
· Submit a complete documentary file as soon as it is marketed.
· Quantify the work that will be immediately spotted by a buyer.
· Do not wait several months to correct a positioning that does not generate calls or visits.
For a buyer
· Update your funding before serious visits.
· Compare the purchase price to the overall cost: costs + work + financing + charges.
· Ask for diagnostics, co-ownership documents and work information upstream of the offer.
For a family / an heir
· Have the property valued before setting up a strategy between heirs.
· Compare sale, conservation, repurchase of balance, rental and dismemberment solutions.
· Anticipate deadlines and costs rather than deciding under constraint.
The start of the 2026 school year calls for neither easy optimism nor pessimism. It calls for better preparation of decisions. In a more selective market, the added value of a professional is precisely to link the property, the financing, the work and the asset situation.
Need advice? MyFactotum helps you to estimate, sell, transfer or arbitrate your real estate assets. 07 85 14 53 21 • contact@myfactotum.fr • www.myfactotum.fr
Background sources used for this edition
Notaires de France – real estate situation 2026; Observatoire Crédit Logement/CSA – July 2026; ECB – decision of 23 July 2026; INSEE – inflation July 2026; MyFactotum / Capital Viagers pages and offers available at the time of preparation.