The highly-prized département of Les Hauts-de-Seine
The most expensive address in the region around Paris after the capital itself, encompasses, among others, the communes of Neuilly, Saint Cloud, Rueil-Malmaison and Levallois-Perret. The “petite couronne” attracts an elegant clientele of French but also foreign families, for its setting and quality lifestyle.
Forming a suburban belt around the capital, the département of Les Hauts-de-Seine is the closest to Paris. Benefiting from excellent transport connections, vast green spaces, and a property market offering prestigious houses with gardens, “le 92” draws families in search of nature and quietness. As explained by Patrick Péris, manager of Coldwell Banker Paris Capital : “Parisians cross the Seine and head for these communes to benefit first and foremost from a pleasant setting in which to live. Clients here are mostly comprised of families, wealthy French clients, often senior executives working in La Défense or on the west side of Paris. The most popular communes and the most privileged sectors for prestige properties are Neuilly, Marnes-la-Coquette, Saint Cloud, La Celle Saint Cloud, Rueil Malmaison, Vaucresson, Boulogne-Billancourt and Levallois-Perret. In terms of family life, they offer lots of arguments and their policy is, in fact, clearly aimed at families, as in Département 78. Previously absent from this market, foreign buyers are growing in number. The proximity of international schools, the classiness of the homes and their beautiful surroundings now draw many foreigners, ex-pats, personalities from the media, as well as very wealthy Qatari clients acquiring prestige residences”.
The long-established star of Les Hauts de Seine, the commune of Neuilly - where wealth per capita is one of the highest in France -, boasts a French clientele which remains loyal from one generation to the next. Provincial and upper middle class, Neuilly also increasingly draws Parisian families and working couples with high purchasing power, wanting to acquire apartments with terraces or town houses. According to Elena Renucci, negotiator with Fleuron Immobilier : “Buyers aiming to settle in Neuilly are looking for a comfortable lifestyle. In Paris intra-muros, the virtual impossibility of using a car and the scarcity of natural greenery make family life rather complicated. Couples with children therefore set their sights on communes bordering on Paris, Neuilly in particular, which, as well as proposing a very fine array of housing and being within just a few minutes of Porte Maillot, benefits from the closeness of renowned schools. A “village town”, Neuilly has lots of residences in which you feel as if you’re in the country, with apartments offering large terraces. It also provides a wide choice of houses : old family residences and contemporary houses with gardens, ensuring quality living conditions which are increasingly sought after”.
Fashionable communes in “le 92” clearly sketch out an uppercrust area where prices remain steady, especially for desirable properties. Over the past 12 months, the property market here has gotten its breath back, particularly in the case of prestige properties which are once again in demand. Anne-Laure Antoine, manageress of the Daniel Féau agency in Neuilly, explains : “In 2016, the market in Neuilly picked up significantly for top-notch properties (priced over 13,000 euros per sqm). Over the past three months, we have seen several examples of sales, especially of apartments on upper floors facing the Bois de Boulogne, at prices exceeding 14,000 euros per sq. metre. On the market for more “standard” properties in Neuilly, prices usually range from 9,000 to 11,000 euros per sqm, prices which have risen slightly since the summer of 2016. This buoyancy in the market is partly due to interest rates at record lows, encouraging buyers to invest in real estate, with strong interest in properties in neighbourhoods near schools, shops and the Métro. In Neuilly, most of the clients are dyed-in-the-wool French, and mainly families. It is true that “Neuilléens” are deeply attached to its village atmosphere, wide leafy avenues, and the rich array of activities offered by the Bois de Boulogne, for young and old alike”.
