Maussane or EygaliÈres, a matter of taste
Drawing a comparison between these two villages involves distinguishing between south and north, the plains and the rocky promontory, vegetable and mineral. Local estate-agents describe these addresses, as authentic as they are select, in the Alpilles. An excursion to the heart of Provence...
Situated in the Vallée des Baux, Maussane has 2,150 residents. Its old fountains and wash-houses, ancient ruins and traditional festivals give it real authenticity. The score of restaurants in the locality provide as many opportunities to sample regional specialities, rich in colour and flavour. Nestling at the foot of the Alpilles, the village has 37,000 olive-trees and two old mills. Just five minutes from Saint-Rémy, Eygalières with 1,660 inhabitants overlooks the olive-groves, vineyards and luxuriant hills. Charming gardens extend the stone houses facing the Alpilles, the mountain of La Caume and the Durance river. The ruins of the castle, the Eglise Saint-Laurent, the esplanade in front of the old dungeon and the Penitents’ Chapel, built in the 17th century, all contribute to its charm.
“Maussane is known as the most sought-after address in the southern sector, with a certain chic as a bonus,” says Muriel Ducloy of the Agence des Alpilles. The commune, which is lively all year round without any real slowdown in winter, boasts a pleasant square, recently renovated, dotted with plane-trees. 35 minutes from the TGV station in Avignon, a 40-minute drive from Aix and 45 minutes from Marseille, the lovely Maussane benefits from controlled urbanization. While the top end of the market posts pretty much the same prices in the two villages, the grid starts at a lower level in Maussane, where one finds, for example, a 50 m2 apartment in a restored old building at 182,000 €, village houses with gardens from 300,000 to 500,000 €, and “mas” leading out to gardens with pools or country properties to renovate, from 700,000 to 900,000 €. A villa of 200 m2 in perfect condition, its self-contained studio and garden of 4,000 m2 with a pool thus costs 890,000 €. Flirting with the 2 million euro mark, prestige properties offer living space of 250 to 850 m2 in grounds ranging from 1,000 m2 to almost 5 acres. Here, the bulk of transactions lies between 700,000 € and 1.5 million euros, whereas one tends to hear 1.5 to 4 million euros over in Eygalières. Among her recent sales, Muriel Ducloy mentions a village “mas”, built of stone and redecorated in ultra-contemporary style, with grounds of 1,300 m2, acquired by a Franco-American couple based in the US for 2.4 million euros, and finally a house of 200 m2 in need of a lick of paint, set in grounds of 8,000 m2 facing the Alpilles, bought by French clients for holiday use for 1.2 million euros.
“The main difference between the two villages lies in their very position : perched on a rocky spur, Eygalières is not a place one necessarily passes through. Its elevated position offers breathtaking views,” says Olivier Valancogne of Valancogne Partners. The village spirit reigns supreme. However intimate they may be, estates and blocks of apartments are outlawed here. The address is certainly elegant, though one should be wary of generalizations, including the permanently ultra-high level for starting prices. Olivier Valancogne refers, for instance, to a single-storey villa of 180 m2 in need of a make-over, estimated at 720,000 €. The idea of investing is often mentioned by would-be purchasers. And from this point of view, Eygalières is a reassuring address, like Maussane and Saint-Rémy. The choice is then purely a matter of taste, a preference for north or south, scenery that climbs upwards or descends. Finally, the two markets are pretty much equal, that of Eygalières probably remaining more confidential and discreet than that of Mausssane.
Philippe Boulet of the Emile Garcin agency agrees with Olivier Valancogne on the subject of affinities. Fans are divided fairly evenly. In fact, many buyers look for properties all over the Alpilles and it is up to the ones they visit to influence the choice, especially as their prices are relatively similar, with a tiny difference in favour of Eygalières. Company directors, senior executives and artists, still present on the scene, are mostly French, from the Lille-Paris-Lyon corridor, Belgian, British, Swiss, German, Australian, from New Zealand or South Africa, aged from 35 to 50, bar exceptions. Handicapped by the exchange rate, Americans have been more hesitant over the past few years. Discretion is the common denominator. Most owners resort to seasonal rentals to cover the costs of their second home, a segment representing a market share of at least 70 %. Despite this factor, people often maintain a home here for over 15 years, a statistic well above the observed rotation on the Côte d’Azur, or even the national average. Without any disturbances and offered for sale at the right price, a property leaves the estate-agents’ files without much difficulty. The recovery seems to be confirmed : if one stops the countdown in August, the year 2010 has already attained the score recorded by the Emile Garcin agency during the entire twelve months of 2009.
By Laetitia Rossi
