Barometer · Edition 1
Rental Yield Barometer: ten major French cities
Where is gross rental yield highest? RentValo cross-referenced purchase prices and rents per m² to rank ten major French markets. Flats, data as of 1 June 2026.
By Baptiste Rouget · Published on 28 August 2026
In short
Of the ten cities studied, Lille has the highest gross rental yield (5.86%) and Paris the lowest (4.14%), a gap of 42%. Average of the ten cities: 4.98%. Key takeaway: the most expensive cities are not the most profitable — the price per m² in Paris is nearly three times that of Lille, for a rent per m² only twice as high.
5.86%
Highest gross yield — Lille
4.98%
Average of the 10 cities
+42%
Gap Lille vs Paris
2026 ranking by gross rental yield
| Rank | City | Average price €/m² | Rent €/m²/month | Gross yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lille | €3,359 | €16.4 | 5.86% |
| 2 | Montpellier | €3,479 | €16.0 | 5.52% |
| 3 | Marseille | €3,644 | €16.5 | 5.43% |
| 4 | Nantes | €3,442 | €14.6 | 5.09% |
| 5 | Toulouse | €3,585 | €15.1 | 5.05% |
| 6 | Strasbourg | €3,716 | €15.4 | 4.97% |
| 7 | Bordeaux | €4,314 | €17.1 | 4.76% |
| 8 | Rennes | €4,037 | €15.1 | 4.49% |
| 9 | Lyon | €4,673 | €17.4 | 4.47% |
| 10 | Paris | €9,701 | €33.5 | 4.14% |
| Average of the 10 cities | €4,395 | €17.7 | 4.98% |
Gross yield = (monthly rent per m² × 12) ÷ purchase price per m². Excludes notary fees, costs, property tax, vacancy and tax. Sample of ten major French cities, not exhaustive. Indicative, non-binding data.
What gross yield does not tell you
Gross yield is a starting point, not a decision. Net yield — after notary fees, costs, property tax and above all tax — can vary by several points for the same property depending on the regime: LMNP réel, micro-BIC, micro-foncier, réel foncier, SCI à l'IR or SCI à l'IS. That is where an investment's real performance is decided.
- →Purchase costs are not in the gross figure. For resale properties, notary fees are about 7 to 8% of the price: they reduce the real yield from the first year.
- →Annual costs are not either. Property tax, non-recoverable service charges, landlord insurance, management and vacancy typically take 20 to 30% of rent collected.
- →Tax makes the biggest difference. On the same property, the gap between the most and least favourable regime often runs to hundreds of euros a month — far more than the 42% gross-yield gap between Lille and Paris.
- →A city average is only an average. Within a single municipality, the yield gap between neighbourhoods often exceeds the gap between the cities in this ranking.
From gross yield to after-tax net yield
RentValo calculates the after-tax net yield, compares all the applicable tax regimes and projects cash flow over the full loan term — from a simple listing.
Calculate my property's net yield →Free simulation · All applicable tax regimes compared
Sources and methodology
- Scope
- Flats, ten major French cities, July 2026. Non-exhaustive sample.
- Purchase price
- MeilleursAgents — price map, estimates as of 1 June 2026, net to seller (excluding agency and notary fees).
- Rents
- MeilleursAgents — average rent per m² for a flat, same page and same methodology as prices, so that yields remain comparable between cities.
- Cross-check
- LocService 2026 observatory (national average rent €17.04/m², Paris ≈ €39/m²) and local rent observatories — consistent orders of magnitude.
- Gross yield
- (monthly rent/m² × 12) ÷ price/m². Excludes: notary fees (≈ 7 to 8% for resale), non-recoverable costs, property tax, vacancy and tax.
- Net yield
- Always lower than gross. This is where the tax regime (LMNP, micro-foncier, réel, SCI…) makes the difference — the core of RentValo's analysis.
- Disclaimer
- Indicative, non-binding data. RentValo is an analysis and decision-support tool.
Source of prices and rents: MeilleursAgents — property prices. Barometer compiled on 9 July 2026.
Download the barometer
RentValo Rental Yield Barometer — Edition 1
PDF in French, 1 page · full ranking, key figures and methodology. Free to reuse with credit to RentValo.