It is well known that habitat does not make a monk. The Le Bon Coin site has decided to take advantage of the adage and reigns supreme in the hearts of the French for… real estate advertisements, according to the latest ranking* of the Favorite brand of the Frenchthat 20 minutes – also the French’s favorite media brand – reveals you exclusively. However, Le Bon Coin self-defines itself on the Web as “the site for classified ads”. Small, small… We’re still talking about housing. Another world, normally.
Moreover, in the top 5 of the French’s favorite brand, there are three specialist sites in pure real estate: Se Loger (2nd), PAP (4th) and Logic Immo (5th), which makes this place even more surprising. of number 1. A bit as if Lionel Messi was named best basketball player of the year, ahead of LeBron James and Stephen Curry. And as long as we’re in for surprises: even Le Bon Coin taking the lead is a habit more than an anomaly, says Benjamin Fagot, of the French’s favorite brand. “He’s been at the top of the rankings for years, at least seven-eight years. »
Another protagonist who does not raise the slightest eyebrow in amazement: Dominique Podre, real estate agent. “It’s hardly surprising. Not being specialized only in this area is a strength more than a weakness. » Explanations of this paradox do not take long to come: “If real estate is a fantasy for the French, it is also a fear and a strong apprehension. Not only doing that, and being a site that already has consumer trust in other areas, is added marketing value. » An observation shared by Benjamin Fagot: the site ranks number 1 in terms of usefulness, proximity and accessibility in this same ranking of the French’s favorite brand.
Abundance of members does no harm
Mathilde, who lives in Perpignan, is one of the tenants who found a cozy little home on the site. “Simple question of ease,” she explains. I already had an account with them, I knew the site and how it worked, especially each time I wanted to redo my wardrobe. So it seemed less of a hassle than starting from scratch. » For her first steps in real estate, she was not disappointed: “There were a lot of offers… More than enough in any case for me to be ‘happy’ with Le Bon Coin. Why look elsewhere if your most familiar site meets your expectations? »
Same observation a few blocks away, but this time on the other side of the rental contract. Bastien, who lives year-round in Paris, has invested in an apartment in the Catalan city in order to rent it. His rental advert, placed on Le Bon Coin, was (very) successful: “In less than one night, I had dozens of requests! We rent our accommodation on Le Bon Coin for the same reason that we sell our clothes there: because there are so many people that we are sure to find buyers there. »
Towards an increasingly assumed specialization
And there you have it, the other big reason for the success of Le Bon Coin. Its hyperactive community. Count between 29 and 30 million unique monthly visitors, or more than 40% of the country’s population. Aurélien Flament, director of the real estate market on the Le Bon Coin website, delivers the figures for its sector in particular: “7.5 million real estate project leaders use Le Bon Coin exclusively, including a million in Ile-de-France, where we are however less identified, particularly by professionals. » The expert of course shares Mathilde’s observation on the variety of the offer: “Le Bon Coin is the most exhaustive platform in terms of content in our real estate category”, according to him, with more than 760,000 properties in sale – including 75,000 to individuals – and 165,000 rental properties.
Dominique Podre agrees: “I directly advise my clients to go to Le Bon Coin for their ads or searches. It is the largest breeding ground in France, and now the reference site. » To obtain this status, Le Bon Coin did not simply accumulate active members, recalls Aurélien Flament. ” The repurchase [en novembre 2017] from AVendreALouer, a specialist platform, has also allowed us to improve our skills in this market, as well as to develop our offers on the new home market. »
*Study carried out between December 8 and 11, 2023 with OpinionWay with a sample of 1,015 people, representative of the French population aged 18 and over.