The countryside behind Cannes
How pleasant it is to move back a little from the bustle of the Festival City to its authentic villages on the luxuriant hills ! Our estate-agents describe a buoyant property market, despite a shaky international climate... By Laetitia Rossi
Mougins is clearly seen as a countrified outpost of Cannes. Playing host to 19,270 residents, this “garden village” spread out around a medieval village with a spiral layout owes its reputation to its art-galleries, renowned restaurants and high-quality properties. Almost 50 % of the territory is covered by natural greenery, pines, oaks and cypress trees. The commune boasts four clinics, several schools, 40 restaurants, two 4-star hotels and one 5-star, not forgetting the 6.25-acre Eco’Parc offering a lake, amphitheatre and play areas. Valbonne’s destiny is closely linked to that of the Sophia-Antipolis science and technology park, founded in 1969 in the midst of the woodland, now housing 1,276 companies providing 26,600 jobs in biotechnologies, agro-chemistry, new energies, IT, electronics and communication. The charm of Valbonne is hard to resist, a village also offering art-galleries and artists’ studios. The area around Grasse is composed of old villages, meadows, woods and little rivers. The pleasant villages of Opio, Le Rouret and Châteauneuf offer an alternative to the densely built-up Riviera coastline and the town of Grasse, a sub-prefecture with 50,250 residents, not far away.
“While most buyers focus their attention on Cannes when it comes to entertainment, many decide to live in Mougins, especially as it is on a par in terms of prestige with the third largest town in the Alpes-Maritimes,” says Grégory Piro of Bienvenue.fr Immobilier. Nothing is missing, whether it be motorway access, infrastructures, a wide choice of villas or even international schools. The proximity of the Sophia Antipolis activity park has a positive effect on the volume of sales, at prices up to 1.5 million euros. Beyond that level, properties are then acquired by company directors, French and foreign retirees. A few buyers from Monaco treat themselves to weekend retreats, alternatives to the very densely built-up Principality, offering a dose of fresh air. Last year, transactions ranged from 1 million euros - bringing a house of 150 m2 in good condition with grounds of 2,500 m2 and a pool - to 4 million euros - the budget required for a villa of 300-500 m2, sometimes facing the Bay of Cannes. Valbonne offers quality living conditions, bringing residents from neighbouring communes to its weekly market. Younger clients earn their livings in Sophia. English-speaking families are drawn by the Centre International de Valbonne. The vast majority pay from 700,000 to 2.5 million euros, the starting-price corresponding to a house of 120 m2 in a quiet spot with a garden of 1,000 m2. Correctly estimated, properties sell within 45 days at most.
Jeanne-Chantal Brun-Signoret of L’Adresse Opio Rouret Immobiler covers the villages of Opio, Le Rouret, Châteauneuf-de-Grasse and Roquefort-les-Pins, all about 30 minutes from Nice. The countryside here is well preserved, the built-up areas less dense and ostentatious than in the first ring around Cannes. Generally speaking, buyers pay from 500,000 to 2 million euros. 85 % are looking for year-round homes, the remaining 15 % are shared out between French clients, ex-pats and North Europeans drawn by the sun, the reasonable distance between the international airport and the area, and the latter’s excellent image in the outside world. The countryside within easy reach of large towns, between the sea and the mountains… Quite sufficient to attract holiday residents. Among her most recent transactions, our estate-agent mentions a property in Châteauneuf - main house of 300 m2 with a guest cottage of 70 m2 facing towards the Mediterranean -, acquired as a winter residence by a Finnish retiree for 1,850,000 €, and an old “bastide”of 300 m2 in need of restoration, in wooded grounds of 6,000 m2 near Opio, priced at 1.3 million euros. Already living in the region, the couple buying this property are prepared to spend another 500,000 € on refurbishment. Differences in prices, long to the detriment of Le Rouret, are tending to fade. Interested parties are particularly drawn to the area’s luxuriant vales. On the strength of 30 years in the business, Jeanne-Chantal Brun-Signoret stresses the high resistance of the “Pays Grassois”, which suffers less from dramatic ups and downs than towns on the seafront.
“The coast does not have a monopoly on luxury,” comments Malcolm Bruce-Jones of Bruce International Properties. “The hinterland behind Cannes also boasts some prestigious properties.” Recently, a very desirable residence found a taker in Vence at 20 million euros. Around Grasse, large properties sell at prices between 3 and 5 million euros, with exceptions such as the Château de La Rourée, pegged at over 10 million. One owner is currently asking 3,950,000 € for a stone property of 600 m2 on almost 12.5 acres of land in Le Bar-sur-Loup. For at least a year, East Europeans have been showing an interest in this area, aware that they can obtain more space and privacy than in Mougins, for the same price. The market under 1 million euros is doing well. From 1 to 6 million, activity is marking time. Real sales prices are occasionally 20 to 30 % lower than those originally posted. Rarely in need or even in a hurry, sellers of second residences test out the ground while buyers, fully aware of going prices, visit, compare, make more demands and resort to bargaining.
