Recently, we started thinking about buying an apartment. And then we stopped. Not only because we pay a very reasonable rent for the IXe arrondissement, but also because we didn't like what we heard in the media. Articles kept telling us that prices were rising again – and that now was the time to buy. Excuse me, but since when did rising prices convince anyone to buy anything? Would Carrefour run an ad saying that now is the best time to buy cereal, because prices are going up?
Property dealers have a lot of money to spend on advertising. They also seem to be experts at PR. After all, they manage to convince young couples to spend 400,000 euros on a two-room apartment overlooking a tower block in Stalingrad. And I almost did the same, until I started looking at the figures. Before the recession, the prices of apartments in Paris rose to ridiculous levels. They are still far from normal.
Over the past few weeks, I've become obsessed with websites like bulle-immobilier.org and le-buzz-immobilier.com. And they've convinced me that I should wait for a few months. The current rise may be a blip in a generally downward trend. This morning, on Europe 1, yet another expert reminded us that prices were going up, so we should all rush out and buy an apartment. I'm going to buy some summer clothes instead. But first, I'll wait for the sales.
