More Than A Riviera

Natalie Leggett tells us what buyers are looking for, and where they are heading

Enquiries for property in Provence Alpes Cote d'Azur (PACA) have soared in 2020 and are currently running at more than double of this time last year. These continue to convert into sales and our teams on the Meditteranean coast have had a record year. In what turns out to be a timely move, Leggett recently opened an office in the heart of Nice and the team has been welcoming both domestic and international visitors looking to buy. Expect to pay around 6,500 euros per m2 for a prime location in the old town.

The attraction to high end buyers is that they can purchase with both their heart and their head.  PACA has a variety of locations and property styles that are difficult to replicate - from luxurious villas, set in the hills and looking out over the Med, to family apartments in upmarket resorts such as St Tropez, Cannes or St Jean Cap Ferrat. Throw in a mixture of pretty much guaranteed sunshine with top quality bars, restaurants and boutiques, and a second home here will always tug at your heart strings. There is definitely a strong case for investment too - the region is home to major corporate employers and some of the best universities in France. The airport in Nice handles around 14.5M passengers a year and demand for property here is perennial. International buyers often look a little inland, Mougins for example has a beautiful, and most exclusive, golf course as well as a renowned international school. The latter sits on the hi-tech Sophia Antipolis business park and you will pay premium prices (around 6,000 euros per m2) for a prestige property within striking distance.

Of course, PACA is more than just the Riviera. Inland Provence offers breath taking scenery and two national parks, with tight planning rules and a virtual guarantee of privacy and security. Naturally, land values are lower which means bigger properties and no limits to outside space. You will not be sacrificing exclusivity or luxury though - towns such as St Remy de Provence are superbly connected to the outside world, via the TGV and airport in nearby Avignon, whilst offering charm and history in equal doses. Expect to pay upwards of 5,000 euro per m2 for prime property here.  I should caveat all of the prices in this article, by saying that they vary hugely depending upon location and should be treated as a very rough rule of thumb.

Learn more about Leggett here.