Large family in the 12th: 110 m² five-bedroom apartment found in 6 weeks by Catherine Ziegler

A couple with three children aged 4 to 11 had been searching for a five-bedroom apartment in central Paris for eight months without success. Properties over 100 m² are increasingly scarce and competition is fierce. Catherine Ziegler, property hunter at Home Select, identified a 110 m² apartment in the 12th arrondissement in six weeks and negotiated the price down from 980,000 euros to 920,000 euros, saving 60,000 euros.

Mission overview

• Property hunter: Catherine Ziegler
• Area: 12th arrondissement, Daumesnil / Bel-Air neighbourhood
• Property type: Five-bedroom, 110 m², 3rd floor with lift
• Initial budget: 950,000 euros
• Listed price: 980,000 euros
• Negotiated price: 920,000 euros (-6%)
• Search duration: 6 weeks
• Buyer profile: Couple, aged 42 and 40, three children (11, 8 and 4 years old)

The project

The clients owned a four-bedroom apartment of 82 m² in the 11th arrondissement and had been running out of space since the birth of their third child. The two older children were sharing a 10 m² bedroom, a situation that had become unsustainable as they approached their teenage years.

The brief was clear: at least five rooms (three separate bedrooms plus a living room and a study), a minimum of 100 m², in the 11th or 12th arrondissement, close to a school and the metro. Maximum budget: 950,000 euros, partly financed by the sale of their current property.

The search strategy

Five-bedroom apartments over 100 m² account for less than 5% of available stock in these arrondissements. Catherine Ziegler adopted a two-pronged strategy: intensive monitoring of listings with immediate responsiveness, and direct outreach to building managers and caretakers of the larger buildings in the 12th. Residential blocks from the 1960s-1970s tend to offer the most generous floor areas.

Over 6 weeks, Catherine identified 11 potential properties, visited 7, and presented 3 to the couple. The chosen property was in a 1968 residential building, a market segment often overlooked by buyers focused on Haussmannian buildings.

The property found

A five-bedroom apartment of 110 m² on the 3rd floor of a 1968 upmarket residential building with a caretaker, lift and underground parking. A double living room of 32 m² with an 8 m² south-facing balcony, three independent bedrooms (15, 13 and 11 m²), a closed kitchen of 12 m², two shower rooms. Storage room and cellar.

The well-maintained building had recently been refurbished and featured green spaces in the inner courtyard. The nearest primary school was 300 metres away. Daumesnil metro station (lines 6 and 8) was a 5-minute walk.

The negotiation

The listed price of 980,000 euros corresponded to 8,909 euros/m², above the median price for the Daumesnil neighbourhood for this type of property (8,200-8,600 euros/m² according to DVF data). Catherine Ziegler built her negotiation around three arguments:

1. Refurbishment works: the kitchen and one of the shower rooms needed updating, with an estimated budget of 20,000 euros
2. The gap with the market: five-bedroom apartments in 1960s-1970s buildings are negotiated 5 to 10% below Haussmannian building prices for equivalent floor areas
3. The linked sale: our clients were selling their property in the 11th simultaneously, guaranteeing financing without uncertainty

The initial offer of 900,000 euros received a counter-proposal of 940,000 euros. Catherine maintained pressure by pointing out that the property had been on the market for 10 weeks without an offer, a sign of overpricing. The final agreement at 920,000 euros (8,364 euros/m²) satisfied both parties.

What this mission illustrates

1. Large apartments in Paris require a proactive search. With less than 5% of stock being five-bedroom properties, waiting for the perfect listing can take months. A property hunter in the 12th arrondissement like Catherine Ziegler actively prospects residential buildings offering family-sized floor areas.

2. Residential buildings from the 1960s-1970s hide gems. Often overlooked in favour of Haussmannian properties, these buildings offer rational layouts, large floor areas, balconies, parking and controlled charges. For families, this is a segment worth considering, and the Home Select buying service knows how to identify these opportunities.

3. A simultaneous sale is a negotiation asset. When the buyer is selling their own property in parallel, it reassures the seller about their financial strength and motivation. Catherine Ziegler regularly coordinates buy-and-sell operations to optimise transaction timing.

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