The average price per m² in Harfleur is 1 752 €/m² for an apartment, based on actual notarised (DVF) sales. For a house or villa, it is 2 342 €/m². About 27 transactions are recorded each year.
Mood illustration of Harfleur, a former port town on the Lézarde, in the Le Havre conurbation.
In Harfleur, the average price for apartments stands at 1 752 €/m², based on the sales actually recorded in DVF, the French notarised sales database. The municipality sits clearly below neighbouring Le Havre and below the coastal municipalities of the estuary. The stock, made up mainly of apartments, mixes post-war blocks with town houses close to the old centre. Detached houses trade higher, around 2 342 €/m². The condition of the property, its energy performance and the sector make values vary from one dwelling to the next. These notarised figures give a municipal benchmark; a reliable valuation then rests on comparable properties examined one by one.
House : 2 342 €/m²
Prices from the DVF file (Demandes de valeurs foncières, published by the DGFiP), transactions actually recorded at the notary at municipality level. Cross-referenced with the Notaires de France - INSEE indices. Learn more about our methodology.
The Harfleur market is that of a working-class municipality of the Le Havre conurbation, carried by local buyers: first-time buyers and families looking for affordable housing right next to the Le Havre employment hub. Energy performance has become decisive on a partly older stock, where the worst-rated dwellings trade at a marked discount. Closeness to the historic centre, more sought after, supports properties near it, while the large post-war housing blocks remain the most affordable segment of the municipal market.
In the medium term, belonging to the Le Havre Seine Métropole urban community and the activity of the industrial and port zone of the estuary support demand for housing nearby. The price gap with Le Havre and with the coastal municipalities keeps Harfleur attractive for households on a contained budget. For a seller, a renovated and energy-efficient property stands out clearly, while a dwelling in need of works has to factor the cost of that work into its price to find a buyer within a reasonable time.
Harfleur shows prices well below those of neighbouring Le Havre, and further still compared with the smart coastal municipalities of the estuary such as Sainte-Adresse or Honfleur, on the other bank.
Harfleur carries a past far older than that of its neighbour Le Havre. In Roman times, the site was Caracotinum, the port of the Caletes, at the mouth of the Lézarde on the Seine estuary. From the ninth to the sixteenth century, Harfleur was the main port of Normandy, facing Honfleur on the other bank of the estuary. On 8 July 1202, King John of England granted the town a communal charter exempting it from many taxes. By the end of the fourteenth century, Harfleur was a stronghold protected by ramparts pierced by three gates, among them the Porte de Rouen, of which remains still stand in the heart of the town.
The town owes its fame to the siege of 1415. On 18 August, Henry V of England laid siege to Harfleur with a large army; it was one of the first times an English army made heavy use of gunpowder artillery against a major stronghold. The town held out for six weeks before surrendering on 22 September, while dysentery weakened the besiegers. That capture opened the campaign that led to the battle of Agincourt. Harfleur then remained under English occupation during the Hundred Years War, until it was retaken by Dunois in 1450.
The church of Saint-Martin, of very early foundation, was in the eleventh century a dependency of the abbey of Montivilliers; a new building was blessed in 1411, shortly before the siege. Its tall stone spire remains the landmark of the old centre. From the sixteenth century, the gradual silting of the estuary and the founding of Le Havre in 1517, a few kilometres downstream, doomed the port of Harfleur, which lost its maritime role to its young neighbour. Now part of the Le Havre conurbation and crossed by the Lézarde, the municipality keeps a heritage old centre, on the edge of the vast industrial and port zones of the estuary.
According to INSEE, the French national statistics institute, Harfleur has 8 289 inhabitants and belongs to the Le Havre Seine Métropole urban community. The housing stock is mainly collective: apartments account for close to 62 % of dwellings according to INSEE, and main residences for more than 95 % of the stock, the mark of a municipality lived in all year round rather than a holiday one. Tenants are in the majority. The market speaks first to local households: first-time buyers drawn by prices below those of Le Havre, families looking for a town house near the old centre, working people employed in the industrial and port zone of the estuary. The immediate closeness of Le Havre and the road links support that local demand.
The average price for apartments in Harfleur is 1 752 €/m², based on the DVF transactions completed before notaries. Houses sit higher, around 2 342 €/m². These averages cover varied properties, from the post-war apartment to the renovated dwelling. General condition, energy performance, floor level and sector explain the gaps. For a given property, a reliable valuation rests on comparable sales in the sector rather than on the municipal average alone.
Yes. Harfleur adjoins Le Havre, about five kilometres from the centre, and belongs to the Le Havre Seine Métropole urban community. The municipality is served by the conurbation transport network and by the main roads of the estuary. That immediate closeness to a major employment hub, at prices well below those of Le Havre, explains part of the demand for housing in Harfleur, among buyers who work in Le Havre.
The Harfleur stock is made up mainly of apartments, around 62 % of dwellings according to INSEE, often dating from the post-war period and concentrated near the centre. Town houses, fewer in number, trade on average higher per square metre, around 2 342 €/m², against 1 752 €/m² for apartments. The choice depends on the budget, on the need for outdoor space and on the condition of the property, energy renovation weighing more and more in the buying decision.
Harfleur reads as two wholes. The old centre, around the church of Saint-Martin, the Lézarde and the remains of the ramparts, keeps a sought-after heritage character. Around it lie more recent residential districts and post-war housing blocks. The municipality also borders the vast industrial and port zone of the estuary, which shapes local employment without touching the residential sectors. Location, the age of the building and closeness to the historic centre weigh on values from one sector to the next.
Harfleur keeps the memory of its past as a great Norman port. The church of Saint-Martin and its tall stone spire dominate the old centre; the Porte de Rouen recalls the medieval ramparts and the famous siege of 1415 led by Henry V of England. The Lézarde and its banks complete that setting. This historic heritage feeds local identity without creating the pressure of a tourist market, unlike the neighbouring coastal resorts of the estuary.
This analysis is published by Immover, an independent observatory founded by Antony Barbier. Data sourced from official sources (DVF, INSEE, Notaries of France).