French News Archive

Building & Renovation

Building Construction Costs in France 2010

Tuesday 06 March 2012

The average cost of constructing a new property in France in 2010 was €1,035m², slightly down on that for 2009 (€1,048)

The figures come from the statistical service of the French government, who produce an annual report on new build construction costs.

There were some regional differences, reflecting the cost of building labour and materials in each region, as well as differences in the type of construction.

The cheapest region in which to build was Centre, where the average cost was €935m².

Other regions where costs were below €1,000m² were Aquitaine (€988m²), Champagne Ardenne (€972m²), Picardy (€970m²), Languedoc-Roussillon €940m², and Upper Normandy €967m².

The region where costs were highest was Corsica (€1,265m²), followed Alsace (€1,178m²) and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (€1,148m²).

The study says nothing about the specification or standards used, or the quality of the final build, so the comparisons do not necessarily reflect the cost of materials and labour in each region, but the choices made by the client.

The average size of the homes was 132m², a figure that was broadly uniform across the country, excepting Alsace (159m²) and Lorraine (149m²).

New Build Construction Costs - 2010
RegionAverage Cost per m²Average Surface (m²)Average Cost
Alsace€1,178159€187,142
Aquitaine€988129€127,289
Auvergne€1,036129€133,840
Brittany€1,065132€141,149
Burgundy€1,006130€130,910
Centre€935130€121,904
Champagne-Ardenne€972135€131,179
Corsica€1,265131€166,106
Franche-Comté€1,120140€157,351
Île-de-France€1,139139€158,300
Languedoc-Roussillon€940129€121,048
Limousin€1,027127€130,361
Lorraine€1,029149€153,720
Lower Normandy€1,022129€132,298
Midi-Pyrénées€1,010129€130,349
Nord-Pas-de-Calais€1,011136€137,806
Pays de la Loire€1,049125€131,604
Picardy€970130€126,486
Poitou-Charentes€1,007123€124,278
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur€1,148133€152,693
Rhône-Alpes€1,090133€145,012
Upper Normandy€967128€124,057
France Metropolitan€1,035132€136,289


In addition to the cost of construction, the average building land price was €58m², giving an average price of a building plot of €64K, for a plot of 1102m².

This gave a total average investment cost (land and construction) of €194K.

Unlike construction costs, there were significant regional variations in building land prices. You can read more at Building Land Prices in France 2010.

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