A new survey provides a useful summary of house construction costs in France for 2007.

The figures come from an annual study of construction costs carried out each year by the statistical service of the French government.

The average construction cost for a new house in 2007 was €1019 per m²

The lowest new build costs were in the Centre region at €922 per m², whilst the highest was in Provence Alpes Cote d’Azur, where costs were €1159 per m².

The differences between the regions may be explained, not only by the varying cost of materials and labour in each region, but also by the differences in the type of construction and the level of specification.

There are also significant differences in the cost depending on the method of procurement used to construct the house. Thus, those who were able to self-build did so for €742 / m², whilst those who left it exclusively to the builder paid €1059 / m².

Prices were highest where an architect controlled the project, with an average figure of €1234 / m². However, the specification and build quality of such properties will have been generally higher than other procurement methods, if only because of the level of individual specification in architect designed homes.

The average size of each property built was 136m², with most regions in the range 130m² to 140m². The range was only substantially exceeded in Alsace (168m²), Lorraine (153m²) and the Ile de France (150 m²). In general, the size of properties remained stable compared with 2006.

The average cost of construction was €139K.

Source: SOeS, EPTB