Luxury is, first and foremost, an exceptional location. Price per square meter will always matter less than the address. The classics are the avenue Montaigne (8th), avenue George V (8th), rue François 1er (8th), rue Guynemer (6th), rue Barbet de Jouy (7th), the quai Voltaire (7th)…

More important still is the presence of a monument or garden. For an outstanding view of the Champ de Mars, the Invalides, the Luxembourg gardens, the Panthéon or the banks of the river Seine and Notre Dame, candidates for exception would give anything. But the building and apartment themselves still have to offer all the pomp of luxury: freestone, prefect commons and repartition with vast reception rooms, authentic elements of decoration, such as mouldings and wood-panelling, and high-quality services such as perfect air conditioning and security. Terraces are also always a plus. In the end, if all those criteria are present, the clientele will not be too concerned by the actual prices of the market. However, it remains a micro-market, and the comparative decrease in activity is due to the scarceness of the supply in this particular field. As for new constructions likely to be placed on the same luxury scale, there are virtually none to speak of. 

 3 Questions to… Patricia Hawkes and Laurel Conway
Hawkes agency

  1. What are buyers of châteaux looking for?
They seek an interesting architecture with a preserved natural envirnonment. They are looking for the countryside one or two hours from Paris, for instance in the Touraine, Burgundy, Normandy… But the châteaux are, little by little, losing their land and the properties are morcellated. These people are genuinely passionate aboute old stone. It takes a lot of energy to take care of a castle!

 2. On the market of exceptional apartments, what type of clients do you encounter?
The heart of our activity is the anglo-saxon clientele: they see the world as their village. Since the American and London markets are weakening, they think that they can negociate the same way here as they do there. It is not possible, but truth be told the Parisian market is sometimes far from reasonable. Some 300 m2 apartments in need of a full renovation are still encountered at 6 million euros.

 
3. Are there new fashionable areas?
Around the Etoile is still the safest bet. The avenue Foch has come back in style, thanks to the Russian and eastern European clientele. They mostly wand large surfaces, and this is where most are to be found.

 The areas

Palais Royal, Louvre, Concorde, Saint-Honoré
Ancient: 8,000 to 11,000 euros/ m2
New -
 Those are small markets, where supply is lower than demand. Beautiful apartments sell quickly, sometimes in a few days. The areas of Palais Royal, Louvre, Concorde, Saint-Honoré are at 8,000 to 11,000 euros per square meter for high-end products. Here, the best addresses are literally fought over by the Italian, British, American… For less sought-after streets, prices fall to 6,000/7,000 euros per square meter, like in the rue Saint-Denis or on the boulevard Sébastopol.  In the 2nd, even though the Sentier remains under the average of the  arrondissement (around 5,500 to 6,500 euros per m2), the best areas are still around 7,000 to 9,000 euros per m2, like the rue Montorgueil, best loved by the Italians. It has become a next-best market for the clientele of the Marais. The same goes for the 3rd, particularly around  Beaubourg.
 The Marais and the île Saint-Louis, Saint-Germain
Ancient: 7,500 to 20,000 euros/ m2
New -
 Italians, Irlish, Swiss, Américans and British constitute about 25 % of the market in the 4th. The offer at 8,000 to 12,000 euros per m2, can sky rocket to insane prices on the Place des Vosges: from 15,000 to 20,000 euros per m2. The île Saint-Louis reaches similar heights in the better expositions on the riverbanks. The 5th arrondissement is barely less expensive than the 4th:  an average of 8,180 euros per square meter makes it one of the top most sought-after arrondissements. The foreign clientele buys unwaveringly, mainly for its own pleasure. And at 3, 4, 5 or 10 millions euros, there are only the foreigners left. Under that, the number of Parisians is more important.

The champs Elysées and the golden triangle
Ancient: 10,000 to 20,000 euros/ m2
New -
Arabian, Anglo-saxon and European countries cover most of the market. As always, the Saoudis show a distinct preference for the avenues Foch and Montaigne – at least 15,000 to 18,000 euros per square meter – and the town mansions near the Champ de Mars, the  Invalides or the Trocadéro, where the prices are sky-high. The same extravagance is to be found in the Russians, who up till now mostly bought on the Côte dAzur, but now move also to Paris, mainly on the Champs-Elysées.

The rating of luxury

Minimum and maximum prices
 Loft: 6,000 euros/ m2 – 11,000 euros/ m2
 Appartment: 5,000 euros/ m2 – 12,000 euros/ m2
 Price estimate for June 2008 made by Demeures & Châteaux on the basis of internal informations, gatherd from the classified ads of our real-estate partners.