The French real estate market is undergoing a period of restructuring. The zero-interest loan has been expanded since April 2025 to include new housing across the entire territory. And the Lemoine law now allows borrowers to change their insurance at any time. These factors significantly alter the way a real estate project is put together, from the initial budget calculation to the signing at the notary’s office.
Real Estate Financing: The Expanded PTZ Changes the Initial Calculation
Most guides recommend calculating borrowing capacity before searching for a property. The problem is that this calculation depends on a parameter often overlooked: actual eligibility for the zero-interest loan.
Since April 1, 2025, the PTZ now covers the purchase of new housing, whether an apartment or a single-family home, throughout the territory. Before this date, the scheme was limited to certain areas. For first-time buyers, this can represent a significant portion of interest-free financing, provided they meet the income and primary residence criteria.
For purchasing in the existing market, the rules remain more restrictive, with geographic location conditions and the requirement to undertake renovations. A buyer who is hesitating between new and existing properties should therefore request two separate simulations from their bank, as the financing plan can shift from one scenario to another. Resources like the Le Terrier De Lily website allow for comparing options before committing to a banking process.
The PTZ should not be automatically included in the budget: eligibility depends on the project and the household. Some buyers find out too late that they do not meet the conditions after having built their entire financing plan around this assistance.
Borrower Insurance: An Underutilized Negotiation Lever After Signing
The total cost of a mortgage is not limited to the nominal rate. Borrower insurance accounts for a significant portion of the monthly payments, and it is often the least negotiated item at the time of signing.
The Lemoine law introduced a right to cancel at any time, without waiting for the contract anniversary date. A borrower can therefore take out the group insurance offered by their bank to secure the loan offer, and then look for a cheaper option in the following months.
Conditions to Meet for Changing Insurance
The replacement is not automatic. The new contract must meet the equivalence of guarantees required by the lending bank. In practice, this means that each coverage line (death, disability, work incapacity, job loss as applicable) must be at least equal to that of the initial contract.
A decrease in premium does not guarantee identical protection. Contracts must be compared line by line, checking exclusions, waiting periods, and compensation limits. Confusing premium savings with reduced protection remains the main trap of this system.
Bridge Loans and Resale: The Calendar Risk That Simulators Do Not Show
Buying a new home before selling the old one is a common scenario. The bridge loan finances the transition period by advancing a portion of the estimated value of the property for sale.
The problem lies in two variables that are difficult to control:
- The actual selling time, which can exceed initial estimates by several months, especially in a market where buyers have increased negotiating power
- The actual selling price, which may turn out to be lower than the estimate used as the basis for the bridge loan calculation
- The cost of interim interest, which accumulates as long as the property is not sold and adds to the monthly payments of the new loan
If the property sells later or for less than expected, the gap must be covered with personal funds. This scenario does not appear in standard simulators, which assume that the sale occurs at the expected price and within the planned timeframe.
A more cautious approach is to only consider a conservative fraction of the estimated value of the property for sale in the financial setup, and to plan a backup in case of non-sale within the bridge loan deadlines.
Notary Fees and Hidden Costs: What Really Increases the Purchase Budget
The displayed price of a property never corresponds to the actual cost of acquisition. Notary fees, often summarized by an approximate percentage, vary depending on whether the property is new or existing, and its location.
Often Underestimated Items
Beyond notary fees, several expenses add to the bill without being included in the sale price:
- Loan guarantee fees (mortgage or surety), the amount of which depends on the chosen organization and the borrowed capital
- Pending co-ownership charges, which may include calls for funds for work voted on before the sale
- The cost of moving and any renovation work, rarely included in the initial financing plan
The personal contribution must cover at least all these additional costs to avoid financing more than 100% of the property’s price, which banks are currently reluctant to accept.
The debt ratio, which includes borrower insurance in its calculation, is a point of vigilance. Some buyers find themselves above the authorized threshold not because of the amount borrowed, but due to the cost of the group insurance offered by default.
Putting together a real estate project in 2026 requires crossing several parameters that evolve in parallel: eligibility for the PTZ, credit rates, insurance costs, additional fees. No single simulation captures all these variables. Running multiple scenarios, with and without PTZ, with pessimistic sale assumptions if a bridge loan is involved, remains the most reliable method to avoid unpleasant surprises at the time of signing at the notary’s office.
