Antibes, a little gem on the Côte d’Azur

With its beaches, the charm of its Old Town, a wide array of cultural and sports activities, Antibes has lots of assets which attract a clientele both French and foreign.

Antibes is a very lively seaside resort offering its residents and visitors year-round amenities and entertainment. With close on 76,000 inhabitants, it ranks second amongst the most densely-populated towns in the Alpes-Maritimes. Antibes also benefits from a privileged geographic location between the sea and mountains, close to the A8 motorway and Nice Côte d’Azur Airport.

”The Old Town of Antibes can be split into three areas. Firstly its heart, around the Place Nationale, then the part near the ramparts which is more prestigious, and finally the neighbourhood of the upper and lower Castellet,” explains Cettina Dupont of the Agence du Vieil Antibes. Based for the past 30 years in the historic centre of the Old Town, this agency has become the recognized specialist in this market. “Here, 60% of the accommodation consists of small fishermen’s houses. Some are on the ramparts side, enjoying magnificent views of the sea and Cap d’Antibes. They were mostly built from 18th to early 20th century, and have since been carefully renovated by their many successive owners.” These highly-prized fishermen’s houses of about 60 m2 are built on several floors, rare properties worth on average about 600,000 €. “Over the past three years, we have noticed a change in our clientele. Previously, 90 % of our clients came from abroad, but these past few years, we have seen a rising number of French buyers, now accounting for 50% of the market.” High-end properties in the Old Town include those in mansions split into several apartments, very popular among the buyers. “Especially to the rear of Rue Rostand, where some very beautiful bourgeois residences contain apartments benefiting from high ceilings and generous surface areas. One 3-bedroomed apartment of 130 m2 is currently on offer here at 980,000 €,” says Cettina Dupont. This neighbourhood also has a few small pieds-à-terre, more affordable for familes wanting to spend their holidays by the sea. “We have also noticed the return of Swedish, Norwegian and Danish buyers. They usually acquire 1-bedroomed apartments of about 38 m2. Demand here is much higher than supply, and prospects for the future are very encouraging.”

“The hills around Antibes offer a wide choice of select residences with pools, but also small villas,” says Daniel Dolmen, manager of the Cabinet Morere, located just opposite the pedestrian zone in Antibes for almost 60 years. “Here, the market mainly involves year-round homes. La Constance, Les Rastines, the Roi Soleil and Saint-Jean neighbourhoods are areas in which apartments up for sale are usually 1-, 2- or 3-bedroomed properties. The type of home most widely sought by the locally employed is a 2 bedroomed apartment of about 70 m² with a good-sized terrace. On average, they cost about 4,500 € per sq.metre.” The hills on the commune of Antibes also propose lots of villas which benefit from being close to shops and schools, sometimes offering lovely sea views. “More affordable than in certain chic neighbourhoods in Antibes, small villas of 120 m2 on average, with gardens of about 500 m2, meet with great success on the part of local buyers and retirees. They range from 450,000 to 650,000 €.” A mixed and buoyant market, in which demand for apartments is currently stronger than that for houses. “The town centre is now very popular. Today we are seeing strong demand for apartments of 80 m2, especially on top floors, with lifts. Rare properties, fetching 6,000 € per sqm,” adds Daniel Dolmen.

“Cap d’Antibes is reserved for a well-heeled clientele who can afford its very high prices. Famous worldwide, this top-notch address posts prices ranging from 2 to 10 M €, sometimes more,” says Cindy Fournier of Blue Square Immobilier Antibes. Based in the Old Town, between the harbour and pedestrian area, this agency focuses on a foreign clientele. Its teams include multilingual negotiators who offer first-class services to the various clients of the nine Blue Square agencies dotted around the Alpes-Maritimes. “Cap d’Antibes offers all kinds of villas in very different styles : Provençal, contemporary, or designed by architects. They offer living space of 200-300 m2 on average, in grounds of about 2,000 m2 with pools and cottages for guests or caretakers.” Very up-market, Cap d’Antibes is an address mostly dedicated to second residences drawing a majority of Russian or English-speaking clients. “Offering easier access, the hills of Les Brusquets and Pimeau are also highly-prized,” says Cindy Fournier. “They enjoy magnificent panoramic views of the sea. Here, a lovely house facing south costs around 2 M €. Properties without sea views can be found from 800,000 €.” Back in the Old Town of Antibes, the properties on offer are of particular interest to English clients and yacht captains. “They invest either in an apartment priced from 200,000 to 400,000 €, or a village house worth about 800,000 €. They thus benefit from a pied-à-terre close to the harbour, and rent out their properties to holidaymakers when working on their yachts.” Investors and holidaymakers are all drawn by the commune of Antibes. “The market is doing well,” concludes Cindy Fournier. “We saw a slight slowdown last summer due to the tragic event on the Côte d’Azur in July, but clients were back in September, and the current period is always conducive to transactions.”