In brief
In 2026, Home Select helped a couple of executives buy a 65 sqm 3-room facing a courtyard in the Marais (Paris 4th, Archives area), on the 2nd floor of an 18th-century cut-stone building, with no window on the street. Found off-market through a 4th-arrondissement notary, the property listed at 830,000 euros (12,769 euros/sqm) was negotiated to 780,000 euros, or 12,000 euros/sqm, a 50,000 euro saving and 6% below the seller's price, in 9 weeks. A Paris property hunter since 2011 and a member of the FCI, Home Select secures 6% average negotiation, with fees payable 100% on success.
Key takeaways
- 65 sqm 3-room flat on a quiet courtyard in the Marais, Paris 4th, found off-market through a notary
- Negotiated from 830,000 euros to 780,000 euros, a 6% saving of 50,000 euros
- Courtyard-facing apartments in the Marais eliminate tourist street noise while staying in central Paris
- Co-ownership rules explicitly prohibited short-term tourist rentals, ensuring residential quality
A couple in their forties purchased a 3-room flat of 65 sqm on a courtyard in the Marais, in Paris, for 780,000 euros after a 6% negotiation led by Sophie Riviere, property hunter at Home Select. The mission demonstrated that it is possible to find a quiet residential property in one of the most touristic neighbourhoods in Paris.
Mission summary
- Property hunter: Sophie Riviere
- Area: Paris 4th, Marais / Archives
- Property type: 3-room, 65 sqm, 2nd floor on courtyard
- Initial budget: 850,000 euros FAI
- Asking price: 830,000 euros
- Negotiated price: 780,000 euros (-6%)
- Search duration: 9 weeks
- Buyer profile: couple without children, aged 44 and 47, senior executives
Why did this couple in their forties leave the 15th for the Marais?
This couple of senior executives, aged 44 and 47, wanted a 3-room flat in the heart of the Marais but in a quiet residential setting, on a budget of 850,000 euros including agency fees. Settled in the 15th arrondissement for ten years, they wanted to move closer to the centre for its cultural life, galleries and restaurants, and to be able to walk to work, Republique for one, Bastille for the other.
The Marais had always been their favourite neighbourhood, but they had one specific worry: buying somewhere too touristy and ending up with night-time noise and Airbnbs on the landing. Their brief was, on the face of it, a contradiction.
How do you find a quiet 3-room flat in the Marais?
Sophie Riviere, who knows the Marais street by street, ruled out the busy thoroughfares at once, rue de Rivoli, rue des Rosiers and the bar end of rue Vieille-du-Temple, and concentrated on three residential pockets tourists overlook: the Archives-Haudriettes area, the streets east of the Place des Vosges, and the Blancs-Manteaux micro-neighbourhood. The decisive criterion was orientation: a courtyard-facing flat, which cuts street noise dramatically.
In the Marais, where 17th and 18th-century buildings form closed blocks around planted courtyards, such properties exist, but they sell fast and often off-market.
Sophie drew on her network of local agents and notaries. Over the nine-week search she viewed eight properties, three of them as previews before public listing. The chosen flat was one of these off-market deals, offered by a notary in the 4th handling an amicable sale between ex-spouses.
Which 65 sqm courtyard-facing 3-room was found in the Archives area?
The property chosen was a 65 sqm 3-room flat on the 2nd floor of an 18th-century cut-stone building, facing entirely onto a paved courtyard with a century-old lime tree, without a single window on the street side. Found off-market through a notary in the 4th, it offered, in the very heart of the Marais, a striking silence.
The flat had a 24 sqm living room with a period marble fireplace, two bedrooms of 14 and 12 sqm, a recently refitted open kitchen and a shower room. The exposed beams and Hungarian herringbone parquet were original. The energy rating was E, dragged down by single glazing and the lack of wall insulation, a common failing in the old buildings of the Marais.
The co-ownership of 12 units was exclusively residential (no commercial premises on the ground floor), with contained charges of 250 euros/month. The building rules explicitly prohibited short-term tourist rentals.
How were 50,000 euros negotiated on this Marais 3-room?
The price went from 830,000 euros to 780,000 euros, a 50,000 euro saving and 6% below the asking price, from 12,769 euros/sqm to 12,000 euros/sqm. Sophie negotiated on the E energy rating, with insulation works estimated at 25,000 euros, on the sellers’ wish to conclude quickly, and on recent transactions in the area (DVF: 11,800 to 12,200 euros/sqm for similar courtyard-facing properties).
The opening offer of 760,000 euros had been judged too low. The final price stayed in line with the market once the energy discount was factored in, and the 50,000-euro saving funded the insulation and new windows.
Why does facing the courtyard change everything in the Marais?
Access to off-market properties is decisive in central neighbourhoods. This courtyard-facing 3-room never reached a portal: it came from a notary in the 4th, like 3 of the 8 properties viewed over the nine-week search. In the Marais, the best properties, those on a courtyard in residential co-ownerships, often sell before appearing online, and a property hunter established in the neighbourhood has the network to reach them, as we explain in our article on off-market in Paris.
Orientation, street or courtyard, transforms daily life. Two flats in the same Marais building can offer opposite experiences: one over bar terraces until 2 am, the other in near-country silence. A listing does not show this; you check it on a viewing, preferably on a Friday evening.
The 4th arrondissement remains a two-speed market. Tourist properties (street-facing, ground floor, Airbnb possible) and residential properties (courtyard, upper floor, strict co-ownership) do not have the same buyer profile or the same price. A property hunter helps you target the right segment.
Are you looking for an apartment in central Paris? Contact our team. Our property hunters know every neighbourhood, every street, every courtyard. First conversation free, fees 100% on success.
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Frequently asked questions
01 Can you live day to day in the Marais in Paris?
The Marais offers an authentic neighbourhood life away from the tourist thoroughfares (rue des Rosiers, rue de Rivoli). The residential streets around the Place des Vosges, the Enfants-Rouges market and rue de Bretagne retain local shops, schools and a village atmosphere despite the tourist traffic.
02 What is the price per sqm in the Marais in 2026?
The average price per sqm in the Marais (3rd and 4th arrondissements) ranges between 11,000 and 14,000 euros in 2026. Properties on a quiet courtyard with period character reach 13,000 to 15,000 euros/sqm, while ground floors on the street or properties requiring renovation sell at around 10,000 to 11,500 euros/sqm.
03 What are the pitfalls to avoid when buying in the Marais?
The three main pitfalls in the Marais are: nighttime noise (bars and restaurants until 2 am), co-ownerships with commercial premises on the ground floor (high charges, usage conflicts), and properties classified as historic monuments that impose very strict and costly renovation constraints.
04 How do you find a quiet residential apartment in the Marais despite the tourism?
The key is to target the residential pockets that tourists ignore and to favour properties facing an inner courtyard, which cut out street noise entirely. On this mission, Home Select set aside the busy thoroughfares to focus on the Archives-Haudriettes area, then found off-market, through a 4th-arrondissement notary, a 65 sqm 3-room facing entirely onto a paved courtyard with a century-old lime tree, with no window on the street. The co-ownership rules prohibited short-term tourist rentals, ensuring a residential setting. The property was negotiated to 780,000 euros from an 830,000 euro asking price.
