An interior designer had been searching for a year for an apartment with a real terrace in southern Paris. The Home Select property hunter found a 58 sqm 3-bedroom with a 15 sqm terrace on the top floor of an Art Deco building in the 14th arrondissement, through an off-market contact, and negotiated it to 685,000 euros from 720,000 euros asked.
Mission overview
- Property hunter: Home Select
- Area: Paris 14th arrondissement (Alesia - Montsouris)
- Property type: 3-bedroom, 58 sqm + 15 sqm terrace, top floor
- Initial budget: 700,000 euros
- Asking price: 720,000 euros (off-market)
- Negotiated price: 685,000 euros (-4.9%)
- Search duration: 4 weeks (after 12 months of solo searching)
- Buyer profile: Single woman, 47, interior designer
The brief
Nathalie, a freelance interior designer, regularly received clients at home for consultations. Her 2-bedroom in the 6th arrondissement, with no balcony or terrace, no longer suited her professional needs or her lifestyle. She was looking for a bright apartment with a genuine usable outdoor space, ideally a terrace of more than 10 sqm, in southern Paris (5th, 6th, 13th or 14th arrondissement).
After a year of solo searching and more than 30 viewings, Nathalie had only found properties with small 3 to 4 sqm balconies or north-facing terraces. The rare properties matching her criteria were sold before she could make an offer.
The search strategy
Our property hunter adopted a strategy focused on the off-market. Knowing that apartments with large terraces represent less than 2% of the Parisian supply and often sell before publication, the hunter activated their network of building caretakers in the Alesia, Denfert-Rochereau and Montsouris areas. They also contacted property managers overseeing Art Deco co-ownerships and 1930s buildings, whose top floors sometimes feature terraces created during roof extensions.
In parallel, intensive monitoring of standard listings identified three potential properties in two weeks, all dismissed after analysis (terrace facing a noisy street, co-ownership in financial difficulty, imminent roofing works).
The property
It was through a building caretaker, contacted in the very first week, that the opportunity arose. A landlord in the 14th arrondissement was considering selling their top-floor apartment without going through an agency. The property hunter arranged a private viewing within 48 hours.
The apartment occupied the 6th and top floor of a 1932 Art Deco building on rue d’Alesia. The 58 sqm of habitable space comprised a 24 sqm living room with dual east-west exposure, two bedrooms (11 and 9 sqm), an open kitchen and a bathroom. The 15 sqm terrace, accessible from the living room, offered a panoramic view of the 14th’s rooftops with the Montparnasse Tower in the background. The south-west exposure guaranteed sunlight from 2 PM to 5 PM in summer.
The negotiation
The seller had set a price of 720,000 euros on the advice of a friend who was a real estate agent, or 12,414 euros per sqm (excluding the terrace). By applying the standard terrace weighting at 50%, the weighted surface reached 65.5 sqm, bringing the price to 10,992 euros per weighted sqm.
Our property hunter presented a comparative analysis showing that top floors with terraces in the Alesia area were trading between 10,200 and 11,000 euros per weighted sqm. The absence of an elevator (6th floor walk-up) was an objective obstacle for resale. The offer at 680,000 euros was countered at 690,000, and a final agreement at 685,000 euros was reached, under Nathalie’s initial budget.
What this mission illustrates
Rare properties are found outside the usual channels. This apartment was never listed on any property portal. It was the property hunter’s ground-level network, in this case a building caretaker, that provided exclusive access. Our article on accessing the off-market explains these mechanisms in detail.
One year of solo searching versus four weeks with a property hunter. This case illustrates the efficiency gap when the search criterion is very specific. In a micro-market like Parisian terraces, the volume of supply is so low that only a proactive, multi-channel approach produces results. The 14th arrondissement page details the specifics of this area.
Terrace weighting is a negotiation tool. Understanding how the market values outdoor space allows you to formulate a well-argued offer. A property hunter masters these conventions and uses them to obtain a price consistent with recent transactions. Our guide to viewing an apartment in Paris includes checkpoints specific to terraces.
Looking for an apartment with a terrace in Paris? Describe your project: your property hunter will activate their network to access rare properties before they hit the market.
Frequently asked questions
What percentage of Parisian apartments have a terrace?
Less than 5% of the Parisian housing stock has a genuine terrace (over 10 sqm). This figure drops to 2% in central arrondissements. Properties with a terrace sell for an average of 15 to 25% more per sqm than equivalent properties without outdoor space, and stay on the market half as long.
Why use a property hunter to find a property with a terrace in Paris?
Apartments with a terrace in Paris represent a micro-market where demand far exceeds supply. Around 30% of these properties sell off-market or before being published online. A property hunter accesses these opportunities through their network of building caretakers, property managers and real estate agents, and can move within hours.
Is a terrace included in the habitable surface area?
No, a terrace is not included in the habitable surface area under the loi Carrez. It is also not part of the private surface area calculation. However, property professionals generally weight the terrace surface at 30 to 50% of its actual size to estimate the added value to the property price.
