Investment

Not in yield terms: Paris caps out between 2 and 4% gross, where some French regional markets exceed 6%. If your decision rests on rent divided by price, Paris is the wrong market and that should be said plainly. The Paris market justifies itself elsewhere: preserving value in a closed housing stock, resale liquidity and passing assets on.

What cannot be reproduced: a high floor with a lift, an open view, dual aspect, quiet in a central district, a top floor, a terrace. Anything a renovation can fix (dated kitchen, awkward layout, tired parquet) is negotiable instead and lowers the entry price without touching long-term value. Paying more per square metre in the right place is safer than the reverse.

Personal ownership is simplest for a first property and keeps the capital gains exemption on a main residence. An SCI makes sense for succession or shared ownership: its real value is legal rather than tax-driven, since a flat cannot be cut into three where shares can. The choice depends on your horizon and tax exposure, not on a general rule.