The most surprising thing in this France apartment snapshot? The cheapest city isn’t a tiny outlier — it’s Saint-Quentin at just €62,987, and it’s followed by cities that are still comfortably under €100,000, like Saint-Étienne at €89,355 and Belfort at €92,285. That’s a pretty sharp reminder that “affordable” in France can mean very different things depending on the local market.
What makes this ranking interesting is that low prices don’t tell the whole story. Saint-Étienne pairs its sub-€90k median with a much larger market: 171,260 residents and 1,018 listings in the snapshot. By contrast, Saint-Quentin has 56,217 people and 134 listings, so its low price may reflect a smaller, thinner market rather than just broad affordability. Limoges and Troyes also sit below €100,000, at €98,144, but with very different listing volumes.
For buyers, that distinction matters. A cheap apartment in a city with deep inventory can mean real choice and better comparables, while a low price in a smaller market may come with less liquidity and fewer options. The takeaway: in 2026, France’s budget-friendly apartment market is not just about finding the lowest number — it’s about understanding what kind of market that number belongs to.
Read the full analysis with interactive charts and district-level data on Realty Pulse
