A Home in A French City Might Suit You Best
Like countless Brits before them, Mark and Louise Sayers left a hectic London life to find rural bliss in France. Back in 2003, they settled in the countryside of Pyrénées- Orientales in Céret, a small town of 7,500 souls with a lovely Saturday market and several cafés and restaurants. But for them, village life didn’t live up to the hype. “It came as a shock when we wanted to eat out on a week night and found that we weren’t exactly spoilt for choice!” remembers Mark. “We gave the quiet life a go for 18 months before we came to the conclusion that, as lovely as it was, it simply wasn’t for us.” So the couple moved to Perpignan, the department capital. They and their two children have been part of the 118,238-strong population for 14 years now.
CITY VIBE
While a quaint stone house in the middle of the French countryside sounds idyllic, rural France doesn’t suit everyone. As Mark and Louise found out, choices of shops and restaurants can be limited, even in small towns, and you have to be prepared to drive to find them. Peace and space is lovely but it can also be very isolating, especially if you are not fluent in French and are used to a busy social life. Country properties, often older and larger than in cities, tend to require more maintenance and are not always connected to mains drainage, potentially meaning you’ll have to pay to bring a septic tank up to standard. Boundary lines tend to be easier to ascertain in urban areas whereas in the countryside, they can be approximate, with the seller unable to identify them exactly. Cities, meanwhile, offer a vibrant and exciting lifestyle with plenty to do, good travel links and work opportunities. Museums and exhibitions, exciting restaurants and bars, events, a wide choice of associations and clubs, more chances to socialise – all are within easy reach. Prices may be at a premium, but then city pads tend to be quicker and easier to sell or rent out and to hold their value. Tim Swannie, director of luxury property finders Home Hunts, has noticed a surge in interest for French cities from foreign buyers. While he says Brexit is a contributing factor as investors want a foothold in Europe and London is no longer as attractive an option, he also believes buyers like the fact they can get to their property easily and enjoy an exciting location with a real French atmosphere. His clients either seek spacious, central apartments with character features or larger villa-type homes on the outskirts with quick access to the centre. “The property market in Paris is experiencing the busiest times it has seen for over 10 years with demand totally outstripping supply at present. Prices are rising and rising,” he says. “Bordeaux, Montpellier, Toulouse and Nice are also really popular with our clients at present. A lot of money has been invested in Bordeaux and Montpellier and there is a large number of new residential developments being built. “Nice, the capital of the French Riviera, has always been popular but this past six months has seen a leap in enquiries. We are working with a lot of UK clients, some of whom are relocating, others who are buying holiday homes, so they can enjoy the weather and all of the activities that Nice has to offer.”
THE BIG THREE
Paris, Ile-de-France
Average apartment price: €9,040/m2
Average house price (Ile-de-France): €303,000
With its world-famous museums, concert and show venues, Haussmannian buildings and beautiful parks, Paris is straight out of a movie set. No wonder it is the world’s top tourism destination and a magnet for investors. The property market has soared in the past couple of years and prices have reached record levels. At the time of writing, the latest Notaires report was predicting prices of resale apartments to reach €9,300/m2 in Paris this spring. Linda Viandier moved to the capital nine years ago and lives in a rented apartment just outside the city boundary in Joinville-le-Pont, a short RER ride to the centre. Though she is quite close to the city boundaries, other suburbs further out are becoming more and more attractive thanks to the Grand Paris development project. Linda says she enjoys the best of both worlds, living just outside the bustle of the city but with all its attractions on the doorstep. “I love the culture, the museums, art galleries and exhibitions,” she says. “I also love the café culture, meeting with friends for a coffee or glass of wine, or sitting on my own reading a book or just people watching. I love the park life for the same reasons. Paris remains the most beautiful city in the world and there is always something new to discover.”
Bordeaux, Gironde
Average apartment price: €3,650/m2
Average house price: €408,000
The bustling city of Bordeaux has been in the property headlines for months having seen transactions and prices soar, although the signs are that they may be starting to slow. In the fourth quarter of 2017 though, apartment prices had jumped by 16.1% year-on-year according to the Notaires de France. Its rejuvenated city centre and riverside, the new TGV line and its desirable location between the Atlantic coast and world-famous vineyards, have attracted buyers from France and abroad. Is this France’s hottest place to be?
Lyon, Rhône
Average apartment price: €3,570/m2
Average house price: €494,600 The third largest city in France and capital of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region is wonderfully diverse offering the best cultural amenities but a slower, more relaxed pace of life than in Paris. Known as the foodie capital of France, Lyon is home to the iconic Bouchons restaurants and Les Halles de Lyon indoor market. The city also counts several UNESCO World Heritage sites and is a strong base for French industry while up-and-coming areas such as Confluences are attracting tourists and tech businesses. What’s more, the city has just overtaken Bordeaux according to the latest price barometer from Meilleurs Agents. Laura Brackenridge and her husband Thibaud bought an apartment to renovate in 2013. In their mid 20s at the time and with jobs in the centre, the couple chose the city over the countryside to suit their lifestyle wishes, also aware that buying in Lyon would be a good investment as they knew finding a tenant once they moved to a bigger property wouldn’t be a problem. “Lyon is the perfect size; large enough to have new places to discover but small enough to get around by bike or by foot,” says Laura. “With the hustle and bustle that comes with city life, it still manages to feel like a green city, mainly thanks to its huge park La Tête d’Or and two rivers that flow through the centre – the Rhône and the Saône. Not only are they and the numerous bridges picturesque, they also offer many leisure possibilities such as floating bars and restaurants, pedestrian and cycle paths along the riverbanks, and boat rentals.”
THE SUN-KISSED SOUTH
Nice, Alpes-Maritime
Average apartment price: €3,610/m2
Average house price: €494,200
If it’s sunshine, beach and southern energy you’re looking for, the city of Nice should be on your radar. With the turquoise blue Mediterranean just beyond the iconic Promenade des Anglais and the city centre set just behind it, Nice is full of the colours of the south. It’s famous for the picturesque Cours Saleya flower market, its joyous February carnival and its delicious food made with the best Riviera products. FPN contributor Carolyn Reynier lived in rural England and Scotland before she moved to Nice in 2006. “For me, it has been a joy to live in a large city where I can travel everywhere either by foot or on our excellent bus/tram system (I have no car),” she says. “I love swimming in the sea and right behind us we have the southern Alps and the National Mercantour Park with fantastic walking, pretty perched villages and valleys such as Vésubie, Tinée, Estéron and Roya, each with its own appeal. Summer and winter buses take you up for a day’s skiing or walking; walking clubs organise car-sharing and there are buses for weekly walks in the back country.”
Carolyn admits property is not cheap but she is prepared to pay the steep rent for her studio near the sea rather than move to the more affordable parts of the city in the north, west and east. “We have sunshine, good markets and food is cheap,” Carolyn says. “This 67-year-old divorcée has never been happier.”
Montpellier, Hérault
Average apartment price: €2,550/m2
Average house price: €269,500 One of France’s fastest growing cities, the préfecture of the Hérault department is a bustling university city with a young and dynamic population. It has a lovely climate, gorgeous beaches just a short tram ride away, and interesting architecture, including its famous folly mansions and châteaux.
AFFORDABLE & UNDERRATED
Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales
Average apartment price : €1,170/m2
Average house price : €161,400
Surprisingly affordable, Perpignan could give some of France’s larger cities a run for their money in terms of amenities and lifestyle. Set about 30 minutes from the Spanish border and ski slopes in the Pyrénées and just 13km from the Mediterranean, its location is hard to beat. The human-sized city has a strong Catalan heritage and is lovely and green. With a packed cultural calendar, it’s also an extremely family-friendly place. “It is a small, compact and relatively quiet city which suits us and our two children (13 and 11) perfectly,” says Mark Sayers who runs his estate agency Artaxa, in the city. “We can walk to everything that we need including the school, countless restaurants and shops, a lovely park, the covered food hall, the theatre and the cinema, and we get our taste of the countryside when we walk the dogs down by the River Têt admiring the stunning view of Mount Canigou.” While Mark says he and the family enjoy being in the historic city centre close to everything, you can escape the hustle and bustle by heading out from the centre and even find “villa-style houses with gardens rather than the apartments and townhouses of the centre”.
Toulouse
Average apartment price: €2,600/m2
Average house price: €330,000
Toulouse scored highest in a recent survey looking at the affordability of new homes in France’s 10 largest cities. The online new-build specialist Trouver-un-logement-neuf.com found that you could bag a two-bedroom apartment for €215,200 in the Pink City, thanks to an abundance of new-builds on the market. As a city, Toulouse’s rich heritage mixed with a dynamic and multicultural population – university students and workers at the aerospace hub – make it an interesting and animated place to live.
sources: French Porperty News, June 2018
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