The latest departmental market analysis shows average prices outside of Paris ranging from €650m² in the Creuse to €3,900m² in the Alpes Maritimes.

Over the past few months there have been a spate of reports from estate agents and notaires concerning the performance of the housing market in the first half of the year.

All report that activity levels continue to be historically high, with over 900,000 sales on an annualised basis, driven in large measure by equally record-breaking low mortgage interest rates.

Prices in most of the main cities and towns have also moved upwards by several percentage points.

Outside of the Ile-de-France the notaires state house prices have risen on average by 2.9% in the year to 30th June 2017.

However, appearances can be deceptive, for information on the state of the market in rural areas remains scant, and what little that has been provided suggests that in most areas of the country prices are either stagnant or falling.

In addition, there are also indications that since June the market in the conurbations has slowed, with demand for mortgages having fallen and reports of prices softening.

With reliable data on the movement in rural house prices unavailable we present below a table which shows the average selling price of property for each department of France, for sales that took place over the first half of the year to the end of June. The table also shows the minimum and maximum average price ranges in each department for sales over this period.

As can be seen, outside of Paris there is a difference of 600% between the cheapest and the most expensive departments, with Creuse in the Limousin coming in at €650m² and Alpes Maritimes in Provence Alpes Côte d'Azur averaging €3,900m².

The national average price over the same period was €2,040m², with an average minimum price of €1,340m², and average maximum price of €3,130m².

* Apartments for Ile-de-France

Source: Notaires de France