3-room in the 11th arrondissement: a young couple finds 58 sqm near Bastille in 4 weeks

Home Select helped a young couple acquire a 3-room flat of 58 sqm in the Bastille neighbourhood of the 11th arrondissement of Paris. The Home Select property hunter found the flat in 4 weeks. The price, negotiated from 545,000 euros to 520,000 euros, represents a saving of 25,000 euros, a reduction of 4.6%.

Mission summary

• Property hunter: Home Select
• Area: 11th arrondissement, Bastille / Ledru-Rollin neighbourhood
• Property type: 3-room apartment, 58 sqm
• Initial budget: 550,000 euros
• Asking price: 545,000 euros
• Purchase price: 520,000 euros (-4.6%)
• Search duration: 4 weeks
• Buyer profile: couple in their thirties, renting in the 11th

The project

Thomas and Claire, both in their thirties, had rented a 2-room flat on rue de la Roquette for four years. They wanted to buy in the same neighbourhood, where they had built their social and working lives. Their one non-negotiable criterion was a second bedroom, with their first child on the way.

With a deposit of 110,000 euros and a borrowing capacity set by their bank at 440,000 euros, their total budget was capped at 550,000 euros. In the 11th, that meant a 3-room of 50 to 60 sqm, a fiercely contested bracket. The couple had made three offers in two months, all turned down in favour of buyers who met the asking price within 24 hours.

The search strategy

The Home Select property hunter works the 11th regularly. She knows its micro-neighbourhoods street by street and knew that Bastille / Ledru-Rollin offered better value than the Republique-Oberkampf triangle, more talked about but 8% to 10% dearer per sqm.

Her strategy was to target properties on the market for more than 45 days, usually a sign of an opening price set too high or a perceived flaw that technical analysis can put in perspective. In parallel, she drew on her contacts at six local agencies covering Bastille-Nation.

Within three weeks she had identified five properties, two of which fitted the brief once analysed. The first, well located, came with minutes recording 80,000 euros of facade works already voted, an unbudgeted extra. The second caught the couple’s eye.

The property found

A 3-room flat of 58 sqm on the third floor of an 1890 faubourien building on passage de la Bonne-Graine. It had been renovated five years earlier: a fitted open kitchen giving onto a 20 sqm living room, two bedrooms of 12 and 10 sqm, and a refitted shower room. The original period parquet had been kept and sanded.

The flat had been on the market for 52 days. The property hunter saw why: an opening price of 565,000 euros, cut to 545,000 euros but still above market for a third floor with no lift. That missing lift, taken as a drawback, suited the couple: charges held at 180 euros a month and no risk of a costly installation ahead.

The DPE rating of D matched the building’s age. The double glazing fitted during the renovation kept heat loss down. The minutes of the last three general meetings recorded no major works planned.

The negotiation

With the flat on the market for 52 days and a first reduction already applied, the property hunter held a solid lever. She put in an offer of 510,000 euros on three grounds: the absence of a lift, which carries a standard discount of 3% to 5% per floor above the second, the DPE rating of D, and two comparable sales, a 3-room of 55 sqm sold at 8,700 euros/sqm on rue de Charonne and a 60 sqm at 9,000 euros/sqm on passage Charles Dallery.

The seller proposed 530,000 euros. The parties settled at 520,000 euros, or 8,966 euros/sqm, in line with the local market for a mid-level floor without a lift. The 25,000-euro saving covered all the notary fees left after financing.

What this mission illustrates

Properties on the market for more than 45 days offer the best negotiation margins. The property hunter systematically targets these properties in the 11th arrondissement. A long time on the market often signals a price adjustment in progress, not necessarily a structural problem.

The absence of an elevator is not always a drawback. For a young and active couple, the 3rd floor without an elevator translates into charges reduced by 30% to 40%. This factor, often perceived negatively, creates a documented negotiation opportunity backed by price per sqm data.

Knowing the micro-neighbourhoods stretches a tight budget. The passage de la Bonne-Graine, 200 metres from the Place de la Bastille, is a quiet spot in a lively neighbourhood. The property hunter often points clients towards these side streets, where the price per sqm can run 5% to 8% lower than on the main avenues.

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