Property in Vichy

How to read these figures. The median price splits the market in two: half of sales were made below it, half above. It withstands the few extreme sales that distort a small commune better than the average does.

The data come from DVF, the file of sales actually recorded by notaries, not from advertised prices, which are asking prices rather than agreed ones. Only sales of a flat or a house with a known floor area are counted. DVF does not cover Alsace-Moselle, which is governed by the land register (livre foncier).

Why this breakdown matters. A dwelling rated G can no longer be let under a new lease since 1^st January 2025; F will follow in 2028 and E in 2034. A commune whose stock is largely rated F or G therefore faces a wall of renovation work, or an exit from the rental market.

Note: these figures cover surveyed homes, not the entire stock. A survey is only required on sale or letting, so homes occupied for a long time are under-represented.

The trend line starts in 2022: the assessment changed its calculation method in July 2021, and earlier labels cannot be compared with later ones. It describes the dwellings assessed during the year (those being sold, let or just renovated), not an annual census of the housing stock.

Why the number of people per household matters. A household is everyone who shares the same dwelling. The fewer people it has, the more demand shifts towards small homes — studios and one-bedroom flats, sought by people living alone, students and retirees; the more it has, the more demand shifts towards family homes with three or more rooms.

In Vichy, a household has 1.60 people on average, compared with 2.17 in France: more people living alone and couples without children, so demand leans more towards small units.

How to read these figures. The standard of living is a household's disposable income (salaries, pensions and benefits, after tax) divided by its number of consumption units: the first adult counts as 1, other people aged 14 or over as 0.5, and each child as 0.3. It allows a single person and a family to be compared.

The poverty rate is the share of residents whose standard of living is below 60% of the national median. INSEE does not publish it for small communes, for reasons of statistical confidentiality: its absence is not a zero.

The unemployment rate here is the census one: people who declare themselves without work and looking for it, among the economically active aged 15 to 64. It is higher than INSEE's quarterly rate, which follows a stricter international definition.

How to read these rates. Property tax (taxe foncière) is calculated by multiplying the property's tax base by the overall rate: this is the figure to compare between communes, not the communal rate alone. Since 2021, départements no longer collect property tax on buildings; their former share is included in the communal rate.

A high rate does not mean a high tax. The cadastral rental value is not the market rent: it is an administrative estimate based on 1970 rents, revalued each year by a national coefficient. In a town with old, low rental values, a 50% rate can cost less than a 25% rate elsewhere.

A prevention plan is not a bad sign in itself. It shows that the risk is mapped and regulated; it is its absence for a known hazard that should raise questions.

This page describes the commune, not an address. Before a sale or a letting, the seller or landlord must provide a risk statement drawn up for the property. You can obtain one free of charge for any address at georisques.gouv.fr.