An interior designer had spent a year looking for a flat with a real terrace in southern Paris. The Home Select property hunter found a 58 sqm 3-room 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 down to 685,000 euros from the 720,000 asked.
Mission overview
- Property hunter: Home Select
- Area: Paris 14th arrondissement (Alésia - Montsouris)
- Property type: 3-room, 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 saw clients at home for consultations. Her 2-room in the 6th arrondissement, with no balcony or terrace, no longer suited either her work or her way of life. She wanted a bright flat with genuine, usable outdoor space, ideally a terrace of more than 10 sqm, in southern Paris (the 5th, 6th, 13th or 14th).
After a year searching on her own and more than 30 viewings, Nathalie had found only flats with small 3-to-4 sqm balconies or north-facing terraces. The rare flats that met her criteria sold before she could make an offer.
The search strategy
The property hunter built the search around the off-market. Knowing that flats with large terraces make up less than 2% of Parisian supply and often sell before publication, the hunter drew on a network of building caretakers in the Alésia, Denfert-Rochereau and Montsouris areas, and approached managing agents overseeing Art Deco buildings and 1930s blocks, whose top floors sometimes have terraces created during roof conversions.
Close monitoring of standard listings turned up three candidates in two weeks, all set aside after analysis: a terrace facing a noisy street, a building in financial difficulty, imminent roof works.
The property
The opening came through a building caretaker contacted in the very first week. An owner in the 14th was thinking of selling their top-floor flat without going through an agency. The property hunter arranged a private viewing within 48 hours.
The flat took the 6th and top floor of a 1932 Art Deco building on rue d’Alésia. Its 58 sqm of living space comprised a 24 sqm living room with east-west dual aspect, two bedrooms (11 and 9 sqm), an open kitchen and a bathroom. The 15 sqm terrace, off the living room, looked out over the rooftops of the 14th with the Montparnasse Tower beyond. The south-west aspect brought sun from 2pm to 5pm in summer.
The negotiation
The seller had set a price of 720,000 euros on the advice of an estate agent friend, or 12,414 euros per sqm excluding the terrace. Applying the usual 50% terrace weighting brought the weighted surface to 65.5 sqm and the price to 10,992 euros per weighted sqm.
The property hunter presented a comparative analysis showing top floors with terraces in the Alésia area trading between 10,200 and 11,000 euros per weighted sqm. The lack of a lift (a 6th-floor walk-up) was a clear obstacle to resale. The offer of 680,000 euros was countered at 690,000, and the parties settled at 685,000 euros, under Nathalie’s initial budget.
What this mission illustrates
Rare properties are found outside the usual channels. This flat never appeared on a property portal. It was the property hunter’s ground-level network, here a building caretaker, that gave exclusive access. Our article on accessing the off-market explains how this works.
A year alone against four weeks with a property hunter. This case shows the gap in efficiency when the brief is very specific. In a micro-market like Parisian terraces, supply is so thin that only a proactive, multi-channel approach delivers. The 14th arrondissement page sets out the particulars of the area.
Terrace weighting is a negotiating tool. Understanding how the market values outdoor space lets you frame a well-argued offer. A property hunter knows these conventions and uses them to reach a price in line with recent sales. Our guide to viewing a flat in Paris includes checkpoints specific to terraces.
Looking for a flat with a terrace in Paris? Describe your project: your property hunter will draw on their network to reach 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.
How was this terrace 3-room in the 14th negotiated down by 35,000 euros?
Listed at 720,000 euros (12,414 euros/sqm excluding the terrace), the flat was bought for 685,000 euros, a 35,000 euro saving of 4.9%. Weighting the 15 sqm terrace at 50% brings the surface to 65.5 sqm and the asking price to 10,992 euros per weighted sqm. The Home Select buying agent showed that top floors with terraces in the Alesia area traded between 10,200 and 11,000 euros per weighted sqm and used the absence of a lift as a clear obstacle. The offer of 680,000 euros, countered at 690,000, settled at 685,000 euros. Home Select's average negotiation is 6% off the seller's price.
