France heatwaves reshape home searches, realtors say

French home buyers and renters are paying more attention to heat risk after repeated severe heatwaves, with estate agents saying shutters, air conditioning, shade, through-draughts and indirect sunlight are moving up priority lists.

In Paris, agents said top-floor apartments under zinc-covered Haussmann roofs have become harder to sell or rent because they can become very hot. Joseph Denke, an estate agent with FredeLion in Paris, said indoor heat on those top floors can become “truly unbearable” and that buyers have grown more wary of south-facing windows.

A Pouget Consultants and IGNES study found that one in two homes in France is effectively a heat trap. In a June survey of 1,750 Leboncoin users, eight in 10 said they had felt discomfort during extreme heat, and one third said they would consider moving if heatwaves became more intense.

France's national weather agency said Monday, as the country braced for its fifth heatwave of the season, that future summers will generally be hotter than those experienced so far.

Leboncoin marketing director Sophie Bourg said heatwaves are now recognised as a structural factor in housing choices. Yann Jehanno, president of the Laforet estate agency network, said buyers are asking practical questions about indoor temperatures, night ventilation and whether bedrooms are comfortable for sleeping.

Agents said air conditioning, once often disliked in France, has become a major selling point when already installed, especially in buildings where permission for a unit can be difficult. Bourg said there is not yet an exodus from hotter places, but that climatic comfort is becoming part of location decisions.