Buying in Toulouse with a French mortgage from abroad

What a mortgage in Toulouse usually finances

Buyers from abroad in Toulouse look at apartments in the brick-built centre, around the Carmes or across the Garonne in Saint-Cyprien, at townhouses with small gardens, and at houses in the western suburbs near the aerospace sites of Blagnac and Colomiers. The SeLoger and Meilleurs Agents barometer put the average at €3,569 per m² for apartments and €4,114 for houses on 1 September 2026.

At these prices, a student flat or a small rental can mean a loan under a bank's minimum for non-residents, commonly €100,000–250,000, and fixed fees weigh more on the all-in rate of a small loan, which must stay under the legal cap. A broker knows which lenders take smaller amounts.

Aerospace income and what banks ask for

Aerospace employed 70,400 people in the Haute-Garonne in 2022, nearly one job in ten in the department, according to INSEE. Airbus has its head office in Blagnac, and Safran, Thales Alenia Space and Airbus Defence and Space are among the other large employers. People moving here for that work arrive with different kinds of income, and banks read each one differently:

• Assignment from a foreign employer. Banks commonly base the loan on the basic salary and give little weight to housing or expatriation allowances that stop when the assignment ends.
• A new French contract. Many lenders prefer the trial period (période d'essai) to be over before they count the new salary, unless you move within the same group.
• Contractor or consultant. Income through your own company is assessed like self-employment, usually on two to three years of accounts and tax returns.

Letting a flat in Toulouse

A long-term lease is the usual plan for a flat bought from abroad to rent out. Banks count rent they can verify, commonly at around 70%, from an existing tenancy or a letting agent's estimate. If you let to students, a furnished student lease can run for nine months to match the academic year. A bank counts only the rent written into the lease, so nine months of rent, not twelve, is what goes into your figures.

Short lets are regulated. Since 1 November 2023, an individual letting a second home to tourists needs a temporary change-of-use authorisation, valid for two years and renewable. From the third home, or from the first if you buy through a company such as an SCI, the authorisation requires compensation: converting a commercial space into permanent housing of at least the same size. Toulouse adds a 20% surcharge to the council tax on second homes, below the 60% that many large cities apply.

Timing a purchase around a move

If you are relocating, you can buy before you arrive or rent for a few months first. Buying first means applying as a non-resident on your current income. Waiting means the bank can see your French payslips and the end of any trial period, which can widen the choice of lenders.

Either way, ask for a loan condition of at least 60 days in the compromis, since a non-resident file usually takes six to ten weeks to reach an offer, and remember that the offer cannot be accepted before the 11th day after you receive it.

Next steps in Toulouse

In the eligibility check, say how your income is paid: salary, assignment or your own company. We will introduce you to one English-speaking broker who places files in the southwest, and matching is free. French Notaires in Toulouse can find you an English-speaking notaire, and our guides by region cover the rest of France. If you work for yourself, read our guide for self-employed buyers.

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