More expensive than Toulouse, Lyon, Montpellier ... why rents are soaring overseas

750 euros for a 25 m2 studio, 800 for a 40 m2 two-room apartment, 1800 for a 75 m2 three-room apartment… You are not in Paris, nor in Nice, nor in Lyon, but in Guyana, Martinique , in Guadeloupe or Reunion.

Overseas, rents are much higher than in most large French cities!

The publication of a rental map in early December, by the Ministry of Ecological Transition (on which housing depends), confirms this, with supporting figures.

Thus, staying in an apartment in Martinique (12.92 euros per m2 per month on average), in Guadeloupe (13.45) or in Guyana (12.71) costs more than renting the same area in Toulouse (12, 2) or Nantes (12.3).

A house in Rémire-Montjoly, the most expensive city in Guyana, is rented at higher amounts (16.7 euros per m2) than in any large city in France, except Paris.

Renting an apartment in Fort-de-France, capital of Martinique, costs 14 euros per square meter: it's more expensive than in Marseille, Toulouse, Nantes, Montpellier, Strasbourg, Bordeaux or Lille!

Figures that hardly surprise Alain Chrétien Ho-A-Kwie, the spokesperson for the CLCV in Guyana: “We have been alerting to the situation for years, rents are soaring, even those of the social housing!

For some, housing represents 80% of expenses.

"The rents are indeed very expensive," confirms Charly Boyer, rental manager at Gestimmo in Cayenne (Guyana).

But we are just responding to the owners' requests… ”

"In general, rents are expensive in the most populated cities or in the south of the department to the point of sometimes being completely disconnected from the market", explains Philippe Halpern, manager of ACS Immobiliers in Martinique.

Cheapest rent per square meter on the island?

10.3 euros for a house, 11.7 for an apartment, in the north… Almost the equivalent of Rennes (10.8 for a house, one euro more for an apartment).

Le Diamant, a very touristic town in the south of Martinique, has the highest prices: more than 15 euros per square meter, more than all the large metropolitan cities.

"Rents have soared for ten years"

For 20 years in Guadeloupe, Pierre-Marie Lianesse, the boss of the two Laforêt agencies on the island, has kept an eye on the metropolis and its prices.

“Undeniably, our rents are higher,” he explains.

They have soared for ten years after the economic crisis of 2008 and the social crisis in the West Indies in 2009 which had worried investors and stopped construction.

"

Several factors explain these high rents, starting with the law of supply and demand.

As long as the second is greater than the first, prices rise… The imbalance is such that informal and unworthy housing is frequent.

It would represent 12% of the total overseas housing stock against 1.2% in mainland France.

A phenomenon that tends to worsen, especially in Guyana where demographic pressure is very strong (the number of inhabitants is expected to increase by more than 45% by 2050).

A supply problem?

“Rent is just the end,” explains Charly Boyer.

The purchase price is high because everything is more expensive: the land, the materials, the construction, the credit… To meet his costs, the owner therefore rents more expensive!

The same goes for the CLCV, which has been campaigning for years for the State, which owns almost all the land in Guyana, to make the land viable before selling it so that it is no longer borne by the buyers and then the tenants.

According to a report by the Court of Auditors devoted to overseas housing, published in September, “the additional cost of the construction of social housing (

Editor's note: no official figure exists for the private stock

) can exceed 20% compared to prices observed in Ile-de-France, or even 30% compared to metropolitan France excluding Ile-de-France.

"

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In recent years, construction has been maintained thanks to the tax exemption machine.

The Pinel overseas, a derivative of the hexagonal Pinel, promises a tax exemption of up to 32% (against 21% in metropolitan France).

But the rental ceilings - 10.48 euros per square meter - remain higher than those of medium-sized cities in France, such as Strasbourg, Tours, Biarritz or even Annecy.

And by the admission of a real estate agent: “The ceiling fixes the rent.

Considering the demand, the owners are going to the limit which is allowed to them!

This limit, imposed on landlords, only runs for a period - six to twelve years - after which the rent is free.

Officials pushing up prices

Are officials also truncating the rental market overseas, at the risk of driving up prices?

This is Philippe Halpern's analysis.

All civil servants working overseas see their salary increased by 40% (or even 53% in Reunion) to cope with the "high cost of living".

Not to mention other bonuses or benefits.

Some companies even finance part or all of the rent, moving, etc. to their employees.

“Some owners benefit from this: contracts and assignments generally last three years, which is the duration of a rental contract,” explains Charly Boyer.

Landlords know that some tenants have a premium or are paid better than others so they set their rent accordingly.

"In Guadeloupe, Pierre-Marie Lianesse approves:" There are almost two markets: that of goods in good condition that only officials or those who have bonuses can afford and others, in less good condition.

"

The development of overseas tourism drives up rental prices.

LP / Aubin Laratte  

“But not everyone is a civil servant!

Claire protests.

This mother of a family, alone with three children, lives in Le Gosier, Guadeloupe, after having left the suburbs of Nantes.

“Rents are 30 to 40% more expensive here,” she says.

If you want a minimum of three bedrooms, it's at least 1200 euros!

Some people have no choice but to share accommodation in large houses.

Overcrowding in housing is not uncommon.

In Guyana, 40% of households are missing at least two rooms for their size.

High rents in a context of severe poverty

Also in Guadeloupe, in the center of Pointe-à-Pitre, Laure has recently been living for 550 euros each month in a small room usually rented to students.

She would now like to be bigger, but despair: “I see studios at 600, 700 euros… It's becoming difficult to find accommodation worthy of the name.

“The one who left the metropolis years ago has lost her job with the Covid-19 and can therefore now only count on her unemployment benefits of 1,140 euros per month.

Overseas, the problem of rents is all the more serious as the standard of living is well below that in Metropolitan France.

According to a recent study by INSEE, the poverty rate is one third in Guadeloupe and Martinique, compared to 14% in mainland France.

It is even more important in Reunion (four in ten people live in poverty) and in Guyana (one in two).

Tourist rentals that dry up the offer

In recent years, overseas have also suffered from a new evil: that of the development of short-term rentals such as Airbnb or Booking which, mobilized to accommodate tourists, are not used to accommodate residents all year round.

Overseas - especially with the sun and the turquoise waters of Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Reunion - has in recent years become a favorite vacation spot for the French.

A trend that could increase in the coming months because of the health crisis, pushing to focus on holidays in France.

Airbnb, short-term rental giant, does not give any figures as to its overseas location, but a compilation of data from the Airdna site does, however, show that thousands of listings for entire homes in Martinique, Guadeloupe and Reunion are available.

“Some rentals are only available in low season, when there are no tourists,” explains Laure, in Guadeloupe.

It is all the more difficult for us to find something to live in… ”

Contacted by Le Parisien, Airbnb denies it.

“Housing tensions in the overseas departments are complex and structural,” explains the platform.

An INSEE report also underlines that rents in overseas territories have been higher on average than in mainland France since 2015, i.e. before Airbnb arrived in these territories.

"

A plan to save housing?

A year ago, the government presented a housing plan of 77 measures devoted entirely to overseas.

Ultimately, by the end of 2022, this should make it possible to boost the construction of housing and the rehabilitation of the existing stock, control construction costs or even fight against substandard housing.

In Guadeloupe, Pierre-Marie Lianesse is already worried about the announced end of Pinel overseas at the end of 2024: “No more promoters will build.

“At the risk of continuing to see rents“ soar ”?

The data from the Ministry of Housing are prices including charges for typical goods (an apartment of 49 m2 and a house of 92 m2), let in the third quarter of 2018. They are themselves taken from data from real estate portals.