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For a single built property, divide its recorded sale value by its matching built area: valeur_fonciere ÷ surface_reelle_bati. In Excel, first confirm that both fields are numeric, the area is greater than zero, and the sale record represents the property you intend to analyse. The result is a descriptive euros-per-square-metre ratio—not automatically a Carrez price or a full estimate of what the buyer paid.
1. Get the DVF export and note which version you use
Download the current Demandes de valeurs foncières (DVF) dataset from the French government’s data portal. The listing provides annual text-file exports and notes that files are replaced when the dataset is updated; an update may also add transactions to older years. Record the download date or export vintage with your results so another reader can identify the data you analysed.
DVF is produced by DGFiP and covers paid property transactions over the latest five years described on the dataset page. Its published geographic coverage excludes Alsace, Moselle and Mayotte. State the geography and period covered by your export rather than treating it as a complete record of every French property sale.
2. Import the text file without changing its meaning
Open or import the delimited text file in Excel, checking the delimiter and the detected data types. Do not assume Excel has correctly interpreted the file’s separators or French-formatted numbers: a value imported as text will not divide reliably, and a misread decimal or thousands separator can produce a misleading result. The exact import controls and formula syntax can vary with Excel version and locale, so verify the imported columns and adapt the formula if your Excel uses localized function names or separators.
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Keep transaction identifiers and property fields together while filtering or calculating. Relevant fields include:
id_mutation,date_mutationandnature_mutationto identify the transaction;valeur_foncierefor the recorded transaction value;type_localandsurface_reelle_batifor the property type and built area;nombre_pieces_principalesfor an additional property characteristic;- lot-level
surface_carrezfields, where present, andsurface_terrainwhen relevant.
The DVF explorer and FAQ distinguishes real built area from lot-level Carrez area. The displayed built area reflects the latest area declaration known to land services at the sale date; it is not a new measurement made by you in Excel.
3. Choose the right value and area
Use matching property-level fields
For a single built-property record, use its valeur_fonciere and corresponding surface_reelle_bati. The official DVF statistical methodology describes the €/m² calculation as the value divided by the built surface of the property concerned; see Statistiques DVF and its methodology.
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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteDo not label this a Carrez price unless the denominator is actually an appropriate Carrez area. DVF’s displayed area is the real built area, not the Carrez area. Lot-level Carrez values appear only sporadically in the file and, as the explorer FAQ explains, have no legal value in this data context.
Understand what the recorded value includes
DVF’s value is a net-seller price. The official FAQ says, “Il s’agit d’un prix “net vendeur”, c’est-à-dire ne comprenant ni frais d’agence immobilière, ni frais de notaire.” In other words, it excludes agency and notary fees; furniture included in a sale is also excluded from the displayed property value. The ratio therefore is not the buyer’s all-in cost per square metre. See the official DVF FAQ.
4. Filter records before calculating
Decide what you want to compare, then filter the data to that scope. At minimum, choose the property category and the locality and time period of interest. Do not mix houses, apartments, dependencies and land into one comparison without a clear reason, or combine built-area figures with Carrez-area figures as though they meant the same thing.
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Check each candidate record’s area before division. Exclude missing, non-numeric, zero or negative values of surface_reelle_bati from the €/m² calculation, and report how many records remain. Treat land-only records and dependencies separately when they do not match the question you are asking.
5. Calculate €/m² in Excel
If your data is formatted as an Excel Table and the columns are named valeur_fonciere and surface_reelle_bati, an illustrative formula is:
=IFERROR([@valeur_fonciere]/[@surface_reelle_bati],"")
Enter it in a new column, such as prix_m2. It divides the sale value by the area in that row and returns a blank if Excel encounters a division error. It does not decide whether the transaction is appropriate to include: filter and inspect the records first, and verify the source values are numeric and the area is positive. Depending on your Excel locale, you may need localized function names or different separators.
Format the result as a number or currency and label it clearly as euros per square metre based on built area. Avoid rounding the underlying values before calculation; apply display formatting to the result instead.
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6. Handle transactions involving multiple properties
A DVF mutation can cover more than one property. In that case, a mutation-level total value may not represent the price of any single property in the transaction. Do not divide that total by one component’s area, or split the total evenly among several homes and present those amounts as their individual prices unless the data supports that allocation. Review such mutations separately and follow the property-level approach in the official DVF statistical methodology where the property concerned can be identified.
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Also keep dependencies and land-only records out of a built-property calculation unless your analysis explicitly covers them and uses an appropriate, explained denominator. If a record cannot be matched reliably to the property and area you mean to compare, exclude it and document that choice rather than forcing a ratio.
7. Summarise a comparison responsibly
When reporting results for a group, state the property type, locality, transaction period, area basis, export vintage, number of included records and exclusions. A median can be useful alongside a mean because unusually high or low ratios can pull the mean away from the typical observation. The official statistical publication uses a median in its visualisation to reduce the effect of outliers, but its own filters are specific to that publication; do not silently present them as universal rules for your Excel analysis.
A €/m² figure is a descriptive ratio, not an appraisal or proof that two properties are equivalent. Differences in location, property type, period and area definition matter, and the underlying records have defined coverage and exclusions. The geolocated DVF dataset history is available if you need to identify the history of that separate dataset.
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