Buying an Energy Sieve Without MaPrimeRénov’: 5 Cities That Still Work

In property WhatsApp groups, one question keeps coming back: “So… is it still worth buying an energy sieve now?” Estate agents report fewer viewings. While certain sellers are panicking, others refuse to budge. Buyers are left wondering whether to wait for a political solution or act quickly before prices shift once more.

Away from the headlines, transactions are still being completed in a handful of cities where the figures continue to stack up. And they do so without a single euro in public support.

Oddly, the strongest opportunities are not necessarily found in the places you might expect.

Where the numbers still add up: 5 cities quietly rewarding bold renovators

On a dull Tuesday morning in Saint-Étienne, a young couple leave a notary’s office clutching a stack of documents, looking slightly dazed. They have just purchased a 62 m² F-rated flat for less than a new small car would cost. The estate agent had told them: “You’ll need to redo everything.” They agreed. Their renovation budget had already been worked out down to the final euro.

Situations like this have not vanished since MaPrimeRénov’ was suspended. They have simply relocated. Rather than overheated property markets, they are now appearing in quieter cities, where prices remain low enough to accommodate a €30,000 or €40,000 renovation without making the entire scheme unviable.

At present, five cities stand out for this risky but determined approach: Saint-Étienne, Limoges, Le Mans, Mulhouse and Perpignan.

In Saint-Étienne, some DPE F- or G-rated flats are still selling for around €900 to €1,100/m², and occasionally for less where extensive work is required. A 60 m² energy sieve may be bought for roughly €60,000, then renovated properly for €25,000 to €35,000 - covering insulation, windows and heating - to achieve a respectable D rating. The calculation is clear for anyone who likes numbers: once outside the office, estate agents will quietly mention that renovated equivalents in the same area can approach €1,500/m².

Limoges offers a similar proposition. Its older stone properties, built in another age, are frequently badly insulated. However, purchase prices are sufficiently modest that a renovation budget can still preserve the return, even without assistance. A discounted G-rated two-bedroom flat, improved through substantial works and a stronger DPE? The margin remains on paper, while rental demand is stable enough to absorb several months of building work.

These examples do not make dramatic television news. They take place in corridors smelling of dust and ageing wallpaper.

Why these five cities instead of Bordeaux or Lyon? The explanation follows one straightforward rule: the lower the starting price, the easier it is to absorb a substantial renovation budget without pushing total costs per square metre too high. Purchasing an energy sieve at €5,000/m² in a hot market makes it painful to add €800/m² of unsubsidised work. In Saint-Étienne or Mulhouse, that same €800/m² can transform the home while keeping its value below replacement cost.

The second element is the DPE gap. The greater the distance from an acceptable rating, the larger the possible increase in value after renovation. Turning an F-rated property into a convincing C in a busy rental district of Le Mans does more than let it more quickly. It alters the tenant profile, the achievable rent and the pool of potential buyers at resale. In markets where families and younger workers are looking for homes with “no headache”, this is highly significant.

The final part of the equation is local pressure. Perpignan and Mulhouse will not become Paris overnight, but both contain areas with robust rental demand, strong transport links and expanding employment. In these micro-markets, renovating an energy sieve is less a wager on subsidies than a wager on the city’s next decade.

Making an energy sieve profitable without MaPrimeRénov’

The investors continuing to buy energy sieves share one habit: before they even arrange a viewing, they examine the figures with the intensity of obsessive accountants. They include the purchase price, notary fees, every line of the renovation, void periods, insurance and finance costs. Rather than simply allowing a rough €20,000 for work, they seek detailed quotations, compare tradespeople and model several outcomes, including the worst-case scenario.

A practical approach follows from this. Look for a property where the final price per m², after adding everything - purchase, all work and costs - remains at least 15–20 % below the current market price of comparable renovated homes on the same street. This buffer protects against unpleasant surprises, whether that means a rotten beam, a joiner increasing their prices or a boiler failing sooner than expected.

Without the reassurance of MaPrimeRénov’, this margin is not merely desirable. It is essential.

There is another shared trait among those who are not alarmed by the subsidy freeze: they do not depend on possible future aid to make the figures work. A landlord in Le Mans recently put it simply: he purchases on the basis that “no public euro will ever arrive”. If support returns later, that is welcome. If it does not, the project must already stand up financially.

Consider a real example in Mulhouse: a 75 m² G-rated flat purchased for €65,000. The investor spent around €40,000 on works, including internal insulation, replacement windows, a heat-pump-type system and a complete internal refurbishment. That brought the total to €105,000, plus 8 % costs. The all-in figure was around €1,500/m². Refurbished equivalents nearby were selling at about €1,900/m². The margin remains even if prices do not rise. The DPE improves to C, rent increases and resale remains a realistic option.

On a spreadsheet, this may appear simple. In reality, it involves three months of phoning tradespeople, chasing quotations and spending nights wondering whether the electrician will actually follow their programme.

The principle is almost unforgiving: without MaPrimeRénov’, the state cannot be expected to rescue a poor purchase. If the property is overpriced or structural issues are underestimated, no subsidy will arrive to put things right. This is why serious investors now speak less about grants and more about audits. That includes the energy audit, but also a structural assessment of the roof, load-bearing walls, ventilation and damp.

Converting an F- or G-rated home into a D or C without support can still make sense when three conditions coincide. First, rental demand must be strong enough to secure a tenant quickly, even with a slightly higher rent for a better DPE. Second, the works must deliver a genuine improvement in comfort - thermal, acoustic and spatial. Third, there needs to be a clear financial timeframe: either retain the property for long-term cash flow or sell at a capital gain after the building has been stabilised.

Let us be honest: nobody enjoys working through 40-page DPE reports. In the present climate, however, these details matter more than the latest political announcement about future schemes.

Mindset and tactics: taking the long view without a safety net

One piece of advice repeatedly heard in these five cities is to begin with one small property rather than an entire building. A 40–50 m² energy sieve is sufficient to understand how local tradespeople operate, how the local authority handles permissions and how DPE assessors determine ratings. It limits financial exposure while teaching almost everything needed for larger projects later on.

Another useful tactic, particularly while interest rates remain high, is to negotiate firmly on the purchase price instead of trying to save every euro on the renovation. A 5 % reduction in price can easily save €8,000 or €10,000. Renovation budgets offer less room to manoeuvre. Sellers of energy sieves know that MaPrimeRénov’ is frozen, and their negotiating position has weakened. That is where the opportunity lies.

Some purchasers even insert conditional clauses linked to structural inspections, preventing them from discovering a catastrophe after completion.

Everyone knows the feeling of entering a flat and immediately being won over by the fireplace, decorative mouldings or old balcony. In these cities, buying emotionally can ruin a project. Renovating without aid requires a form of firm self-care: protecting your future self from a property that will consume your savings. That means saying no more often. It means walking away from attractive but poorly situated flats on noisy roads, even when the asking price appears irresistible.

The common mistakes include underestimating the cost of bringing electrics up to standard, overlooking ventilation, disregarding damp and assuming that the DPE “will magically improve” with new windows alone. Timing is another issue. Many private owners schedule three months of work, only to see the project stretch to six, delaying rent while mortgage payments continue every 30 days.

When the plan is robust, though, there is an unusual sense of calm. You are no longer waiting for a decree to tell you whether your project is worthwhile.

“I stopped betting on subsidies the day I realised the rules changed faster than my works progressed,” confides a small landlord in Perpignan. “Now I buy only when the deal stands on its own two feet, even if the state gives me zero.”

This change in outlook produces a more strategic, almost minimalist set of priorities:

• Concentrate on genuinely underpriced energy sieves in cities with active rental demand.
• Cost the project as though MaPrimeRénov’ had never existed.
• Aim for a genuine DPE improvement, from G to D or C, rather than a superficial upgrade.
• Line up dependable tradespeople before completion, not afterwards.
• Retain at least 10–15 % contingency within the works budget.

It is not the most glamorous checklist. Yet for those still looking in Saint-Étienne, Limoges, Le Mans, Mulhouse or Perpignan, it can mean the difference between an investment that matures well and a lengthy, costly regret.

A new landscape for investors thinking beyond subsidies

For many homeowners who had already arranged works and taken out loans, the abrupt suspension of MaPrimeRénov’ feels like a betrayal. Anger on social media is loud and, frankly, understandable. Beneath that reaction, however, a quieter shift is emerging: a generation of smaller investors and future owners is learning to assess its projects without treating public aid as a crutch.

In these five cities, where prices have not spiralled, renovating an energy sieve can still create genuine value rather than simply pursuing a state payment. It forces more difficult questions: would I purchase this property if subsidies never returned? Does this neighbourhood have a future in ten or fifteen years? Am I renovating for a rating, or for people who will genuinely live there?

Without MaPrimeRénov’, attention shifts away from political announcements and towards local fundamentals: rents, employment, transport, community life and the hard cost of a heating system. Many schemes will not withstand this new clarity. Those that do may prove more resilient, more considered and perhaps slower, but better constructed. On a quiet evening, far from the headlines, that may be where the next sound investments are taking shape.