The French touch to the financialisation of housing. Institutional investment into the Paris city-region (2008–2021)

Abstract

There is ample evidence of the financialisation of housing as it is purchased by institutional investors and their financial intermediaries. In urban and housing studies, many accounts focus on boom-bust markets targeted by ‘global corporate landlords’. To advance our understanding of the process as variegated and path-dependent, this article focuses on a different case: the Paris city-region. Using transaction data by Real Capital Analytics and qualitative material, we show a quick growth in institutional investment into rental housing since 2016, yet one which assumes limited and specific forms. In particular, usual suspects of housing financialisation such as opportunistic funds and REITs are absent. This pattern is explained by the lack of the collapse of the housing finance system in 2008, as well as the resistance of major investors to re-enter the residential market which many had left. Only recently did it change, mainly due to the underperformance of other financial and property assets and its perceived potential for risk diversification.