How do you find the real price per m² of a neighbourhood with DVF?
The DVF data (Demandes de valeurs foncières), published by the public finance directorate, list sales actually signed before a notary over the last five years, everywhere in France except Alsace, Moselle and Mayotte. For a neighbourhood, take sales of comparable houses, work out each one’s price per m² and use the median rather than the average. Listings give asking prices; DVF gives prices paid.
What DVF contains
Each row is a transfer, usually a sale, taken from notarial deeds and the cadastre. The files are updated twice a year, in April and October; each update can add older sales.
| In DVF | Not in DVF |
|---|---|
| Date and type of transfer | Names of buyer and seller |
| Land value (the declared price) | Condition, energy rating, works |
| Address and cadastral references | Features: view, garden, garage, pool |
| Type of property, built area, number of rooms | Alsace, Moselle and Mayotte |
| Land area | Sales over five years old |
A house price is read together with other figures, such as property tax before buying and houses rated F or G. You can work out the purchase costs for free with the free notary fees calculator. You can estimate a house’s property tax with the property tax calculator.
Working out a reliable price per m²
- Keep sales of a single house: a transfer covering several properties or plots has only one overall price, which cannot be split.
- Divide the land value by the actual built area, and note the land area separately: a large garden weighs on the price.
- Use the median: one unusual sale, very expensive or very cheap, distorts the average.
- Stay close in time and place: the last two years, the same commune, ideally the same neighbourhood.
- Aim for at least ten or so comparable sales; below that, the figure stays fragile.
A median does not tell you what a particular house is worth. It gives a range, which the property’s condition, land, aspect and defects move up or down.
Reading pitfalls
Some sales do not reflect the market: sales between family members, life-annuity sales (viager), the sale of an undivided share, a property needing full renovation. The declared price does not always include furniture, and DVF’s built area comes from the cadastre: it can differ from the advertised living area. Finally, a recent housing estate can pull up the median of an older neighbourhood.
Look at the type of transfer too: an off-plan sale, an auction or an exchange do not follow the same price logic as an ordinary sale between private individuals. And in a small commune, a handful of sales a year is enough to move the median from one year to the next: look at several years before concluding that prices are rising or falling.
Where to consult DVF
The raw files are on data.gouv.fr. The public 'Données de valeur foncière' app lets you click on a plot and see its sales, and the data.gouv.fr exploration tool gives statistics by commune and section.
These data contain indirect personal information. Their reuse must not allow people to be re-identified (art. R112 A-3 of the Tax Procedures Book): you read prices, not neighbours. ScanAdresse therefore shows for one address the nearby sales and the commune median, without any names.
Communes and their median price
Using the result
Compare the asking price with the median price per m² times the area, then list what justifies a gap: works, energy rating, land, nuisances. That reasoning, backed by figures, is sturdier than an impression. It does not replace the view of a professional who has seen the property.
Frequently asked questions
Does DVF give the price of a specific house?
It gives the price of each past sale, plot by plot. For a house on the market today, it only gives comparisons.
Why are Alsace and Moselle missing?
These départements keep a land register (livre foncier), a separate registration system; their sales are not in the DVF files.
Does the DVF price include notary fees?
No. The land value is the price declared in the deed; duties and purchase costs come on top.
Are recent sales included?
With a delay: the files are updated in April and October, and the latest months may be incomplete.
Sources
- data.gouv.fr: Demandes de valeurs foncières
- Données de valeur foncière (DVF) app
- data.gouv.fr: explore property data
ScanAdresse is a private service by SRI Group BV (VAT BE1037052239), not connected to any public authority: it brings together public data, with the source and date of every item.
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