What to know before buying a second home in Paris 

Owning a home in Paris is a different experience from simply visiting. It comes with a practical layer most buyers underestimate. Beyond the romance of a particular small street or the view from your balcony over the city lights – a second home in Paris means understanding building types and costs, location, ongoing charges, and what it actually takes to look after a home from a distance. Here's what to know before buying a second home in the city of love and how August's Private Collection membership changes the picture. With the Pied à Terre and the Grand Pied à Terre Collections it removes the trade-offs, giving members a fully managed home in the city without the full burden of sole ownership.

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In this article: 

• What buying a second home in Paris involves in practice: choosing the location, the purchase costs and the ongoing charges that continue afterwards.
• What owning a home in Paris feels like, and how Studio RL approaches each home renovation so it reflects the building’s character and location. 
• How a Private Collection membership changes the structure: a share across five city homes, running costs shared and set out in advance, and the home fully managed between stays.
• How the Pied à Terre and Grand Pied à Terre Collections work in Paris, and what each one is designed for.

What is involved in buying a second home in Paris? 

Buying a property in Paris starts with knowing the city, not only the market. Every arrondissement – Paris’ numbered districts – has its own character and its own rhythm – a quiet residential feel in one, a livelier street life a few minutes away in another. The right home depends on how someone intends to live in it, on their lifestyle. A couple who wants a short walk to galleries, cultural spots and late dinners is choosing a different Paris to a family who wants green space and quiet mornings. 

Choosing your dream Paris home is the beginning. What follows is a set of practical and financial commitments worth understanding in advance. The costs don’t end with the purchase price. A well-located Paris apartment typically runs from around €1.5 million into the several millions, depending on size, arrondissement and building quality. On top of that, notary fees on an older Parisian apartment usually add 7 to 8 per cent of the purchase price, alongside the ongoing costs – annual property tax, insurance and, for owners whose French property wealth exceeds €1.3 million, an annual wealth tax on top. All of it is carried by a single homeowner, in full, even if the apartment stays empty for most of the year. 

Then comes the maintenance – the part that continues long after the home is already yours. Almost every apartment building in the city is held under a structure – this means charges, decisions and upkeep of the common grounds are shared across all owners, whether you are in Paris or not. It takes ongoing attention: a repair voted on at a meeting you didn't attend, a maintenance question that needs answering in French, a home that sits empty for months and still needs someone checking on it. For homeowners based abroad, this is usually the part that gets underestimated – not choosing the home, or even buying it, but everything that follows. 

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‍What does it feel like to own an apartment in Paris? 

Owning a luxury apartment in Paris completely changes the rhythm and experience of your favourite city. It is the beginning of writing your own love story with Paris – getting to know which boulangerie is worth the extra five-minute walk and the nearby café where they know your order and name before you’ve said a word. Paris opens up slowly, street by street, until you greet it like an old friend with each return – arriving on a Thursday evening, to a place that feels like it was waiting for you.

August’s homes in Paris are thoughtfully renovated and designed with that in mind. They often start as an off-market find – a city jewel with typical Parisian charm. Studio RL, our in-house design studio, works with the character of each building, restoring original details, curating interiors and furnishings that feel both beautiful and specific to the place – rather than choosing a single look across every apartment in a Collection. The result is a home that feels specific to Paris, not simply located there. 

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What changes when an apartment in Paris is part of a Collection?

August's Private Collection membership transforms what Paris property ownership involves. Rather than a single apartment owned outright, members hold a share in a curated Collection of five exceptional homes. Paris is part of the Pied à Terre and the Grand Pied à Terre Collections – designed around city life and exploration. Both Collections include iconic European cities alongside Paris – London, Cannes, Rome and Barcelona. 

On its own, a home in Paris ties a homeowner's holiday calendar to one city, regardless of the season or the occasion. Held as part of a membership, the same share includes access across every home in the Collection, each looked after to the same high standard by our homeowner experience team.

The costs are restructured as well. Rather than one homeowner managing and carrying every charge alone, running costs are shared across the Collection members. They are set out upfront as two clear ongoing charges: the Annual Maintenance Charge, covering day-to-day upkeep and shared building costs; the Sinking Fund, set aside for larger planned work that every home eventually needs. 

The part that makes the most difference for homeowners is the management. Through the membership, all responsibilities that normally fall on the homeowner’s shoulders are fully handled by our dedicated homeowner experience team – the repair arrangements and the upkeep, housekeeping and seasonal preparation, and the day-to-day questions that come with owning a home in another country. 

Access is arranged through Valeria – our in-house booking system – and structured around when members want to experience Paris, rather than a fixed or rotating schedule. Many homeowners find their time splits naturally between Paris and the Collection's other destinations, rather than following a single fixed pattern year after year. Every August member is part of a community of like-minded owners with a shared appreciation for beautiful homes and city life. 

How do the Pied à Terre and Grand Pied à Terre Collections work in Paris?

Both the Pied à Terre and Grand Pied à Terre Collections include Paris along with four other reasons to travel – exceptional homes in London, Rome, Cannes and Barcelona. 

The Pied à Terre Collection offers compact one- and two-bedroom apartments, built for shorter and more frequent stays – a Parisian base close to the streets, markets and cafés that make a neighbourhood feel like you belong. The Grand Pied à Terre Collection offers larger, more residential homes across the same cities, designed for homeowners who want room to host family and friends, with beautiful interiors developed to reflect the character of each building and destination rather than a single look repeated across every home.

Sole ownership asks you to take the whole thing or nothing at all. Private Collection membership separates the part people actually wanted from the burden of management. 

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FAQ

What does buying a second home in Paris involve? 

Buying a home in Paris starts with choosing the right location for your lifestyle. The older Parisian apartments usually carry notary fees of 7 to 8 per cent on top of the purchasing price, and annual property tax, insurance and building charges continue every year afterwards. Most Parisian buildings are held under a common structure, so decisions and upkeep of shared areas are voted on collectively – which takes ongoing attention and can be challenging for owners based abroad. Through August, homeowners hold a share in a curated Collection of five city homes in five European cities, with the running costs shared and the home fully managed between stays by the homeowner experience team. 

Can you own an apartment in Paris without managing it yourself?

Yes – this is what August’s Private Collection membership is designed for. Homeowners own a share in a curated Collection of homes in some of Europe’s most memorable cities, Paris included. The day-to-day management – housekeeping, seasonal preparation, repairs, insurance and the building's own affairs – is handled by our dedicated homeowner experience team so your home is ready on arrival rather than waiting to be dealt with.

What is the difference between the Pied à Terre and Grand Pied à Terre Collections?

Both include a Paris home alongside four other European cities – London, Rome, Cannes and Barcelona. The Pied à Terre Collection offers one- and two-bedroom homes suited to shorter, more frequent stays. The Grand Pied à Terre Collection offers larger, more residential homes for homeowners who want room to host family and friends.

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