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Sustainable growth

Discretion and transparency: the recipe for success for this high-end family real estate agency has already been established and will not change. "For us, Avenue Junot, like the properties we market, reflects understated luxury, discreet yet accessible to those in the know," explains Sébastien Kuperfis, the founder's son and president of Junot. A well-kept haven where He still lives with his mother whom he left two years ago for a beautiful duplex near Parc Monceau, with a view of the Eiffel Tower. When Sébastien joined the family business in 2006 at the age of 25, followed two years later by his wife Anne, Maison Junot already distinguished itself through its values, but had only one agency and four employees. The young couple then set about developing the Parisian network with the opening of agencies in Abbesses, Grenelle, Monceau, in the Marais district, then rue du Cherche-Midi on the Left Bank, before expanding more recently to Breteuil, Jasmin-Auteuil, and Courcelles-Ternes. It wasn't until 2022 that the group signed its first licenses in Lille (Nord) and in western Paris – in Rueil-Malmaison and Saint-Cloud (92), and in Le Vésinet (78). In 2024, the acquisition of the Belgian family business...

Asian customers require the advice of a feng shui master before making any purchase.

Highly confidential transactions. Anne and Sébastien Kuperfis have surrounded themselves with hand-picked collaborators, nearly two-thirds of whom come from the luxury, legal, or financial sectors. This background is often crucial in mastering the codes of high-end clientele. "Today, our buyers are primarily looking for absolute discretion," confirms Sébastien Kuperfis. While 20% of our sales involve properties over €3 million, we also complete transactions between €50 and €80 million, which are never publicized. This expertise also lies in adapting to new, more… original demands. The image reflects the demands of Asian clients, who now require, before any purchase, that a feng shui master visit the property to verify its orientation, room layout, and energy potential. Having become a key player in luxury real estate, Junot intends to now plans to apply its formula in major French cities such as Lyon, Bordeaux, and Marseille, on the French Riviera, in Brittany, in ski resorts, and also in the castle segment, which it has already been developing since 2024. As the exclusive representative of Forbes Global Properties in France and Belgium, it can also rely on the 20,000 agents and 600 locations worldwide of this international network of luxury real estate agencies within the Forbes group, as well as its audience of 167 million visitors per month. Meanwhile, remaining true to Following its strategy of measured growth, the second generation of the family is preparing to open an agency in Ixelles, "the French quarter" of Brussels, from its brand new headquarters, located in a beautiful private mansion in the 17th arrondissement of Paris.

Highly confidential transactions

Anne and Sébastien Kuperfis have surrounded themselves with hand-picked collaborators, nearly two-thirds of whom come from the luxury, legal, or financial sectors. This background is often crucial in mastering the codes of high-end clientele. "Today, our buyers are primarily looking for absolute discretion," confirms Sébastien Kuperfis. While 20% of our sales involve properties over €3 million, we also complete transactions between €50 and €80 million, which are never publicized. This expertise also lies in adapting to new, more… original demands. The image reflects the demands of Asian clients, who now require, before any purchase, that a feng shui master visit the property to verify its orientation, room layout, and energy potential. Having become a key player in luxury real estate, Junot intends to now plans to apply its formula in major French cities such as Lyon, Bordeaux, and Marseille, on the French Riviera, in Brittany, in ski resorts, and also in the castle segment, which it has already been developing since 2024. As the exclusive representative of Forbes Global Properties in France and Belgium, it can also rely on the 20,000 agents and 600 locations worldwide of this international network of luxury real estate agencies within the Forbes group, as well as its audience of 167 million visitors per month. Meanwhile, remaining true to Following its strategy of measured growth, the second generation of the family is preparing to open an agency in Ixelles, "the French quarter" of Brussels, from its brand new headquarters, located in a beautiful private mansion in the 17th arrondissement of Paris.

Capital: Is the luxury sector more resilient to the current difficulties in the real estate market ? Sébastien Kuperfis: The high-end segment has not escaped the decline in transaction volumes observed since 2022. But, between the 12% drop in our average selling prices from €15,000 to €13,500 per square meter between 2022 and 2025 with falling interest rates and rising inflation, our buyers' purchasing power has returned to a healthy level. Thanks to this rebalancing of supply and demand, the market has therefore rebounded in 2025 in Paris. Luxury real estate remains a safe haven, particularly in an anxious political and economic environment, which our clients have nevertheless become resilient to in order to realize their projects. Moreover, internationally, France and Paris in particular remains perceived as a haven of peace and stability. Finally, since Covid, our buyers are at the search for a certain immediacy, which overvalues turnkey properties that have been carefully renovated. How do you explain Junot's results in this context? For several years now, we have been gaining market share. In 2025, our business has thus experienced growth of over 50% (compared to an average of 15% for the sector, according to Fnaim, editor's note), reaching approximately 950 sales. This is partly explained by the recent opening of several agencies, but also by our presence and our groundwork, particularly during the pandemic: unlike our independent competitors, our employees, on partial unemployment, continued to work and call their clients. In our segment, this support makes all the difference during more difficult periods. You advocate an "old-fashioned" approach in a rapidly changing real estate world... That's intentional. Being a family group allows us to have a "traditional" management style. "Like a responsible family man" and a sound financial structure. In 2023 and 2024, despite an unfavorable environment, we never stopped investing in new agencies, our teams, our internal training, and our communication. Rather than chasing deals at all costs, it is this long-term vision that explains our performance in 2025. Finally, although our profession is increasingly exposed, I'm not sure it's changing all that much. Instagram, AI, and drones certainly contribute to the image of agencies, but they mainly attract dreamers. Our business relies almost exclusively on human contact, in order to be able to target the right people. Ultimately, it remains quite difficult to "uberize." So you are confident about the future? Of course. Our market remains strong and counter-cyclical in the face of current macroeconomic uncertainties. Furthermore, we are fortunate to operate in a sector... very local and specialized, and therefore less affected by international competition. Nevertheless, we are monitoring France's credit rating and interest rate levels, which are very important to us. If these remain stable, there is no reason why the market shouldn't recover, especially since banks are regaining their lending appetite.

 

Stéphane Grangier for Capital