Antibes, a lively and authentic town
Yann Cohignac - 01 October 2014
The second largest town in the Alpes-Maritimes with 75,000 residents, Antibes is a major economic and cultural centre on the Côte d’Azur. Enviably located between Nice and Cannes, facing the sea, its proposes a particularly diverse property market.
Set on the shores of the Mediterranean about 20 km west of Nice, 10 km east of Cannes and 15 km south-east of Grasse, Antibes has a sea-faring tradition which still contributes to its prosperity even today. With a coastline 23 km long, sandy beaches, the prestigious seaside addresses of Cap d’Antibes and Juan-les-Pins and, of course, Port Vauban - the largest yacht harbour in Europe -, the town is one of the most lively and appealing tourist destinations on the Riviera. Its development is also underpinned by its closeness to Sophia Antipolis, France’s N°1 science and technology park, partly built on its territory (and to which it has given its former name).
The property market in Antibes offers a very broad array of offerings : “Prices per sq. metre start at 2,500-3,000 € on a noisy street, attaining up to 30,000 € on Cap d’Antibes, an exceptional sector where the starting price for villas is 10,000 € per sqm. and 8,000 € per sqm. for apartments,” explains Didier Terrassa, managing director of ABC Soleau Immobilier, an agency in Antibes opened in 2010, specializing, among other things, in new developments all over the Alpes-Maritimes and covering the area from Cagnes-sur-Mer to Le Cannet for older buildings. “In the town centre, there is an equally wide price range : from 2,500 to 8,000 € per sqm. On the same boulevard, they can even double, depending especially on the property’s proximity to the sea.” In the case of houses (except for those on Cap d’Antibes), prices start at about 400,000 € for a semi-detached home with 3 bedrooms on an estate. “Otherwise, you can find detached houses ranging from 1.5 to 3 million euros in residential neighbourhoods.” As for new apartments, almost 10 developments are currently being built, “illustrating the sector’s go-ahead approach “. On the other hand, building plots are extremely rare and thus expensive : “For a plot of 1,500 m2 in a good location, you would expect to pay at least 400,000 €”. According to Didier Terrassa, Antibes has been pretty much spared from declining prices, thanks to “a market that always remains active”.
Based in Antibes since 1991, Claude Bouvet, managing director of Direct Immobilier (covering Antibes and Biot), confirms the wide disparity in prices from one area of Antibes town to the next : “Prices of apartments in old buildings range from 3,300 to 3,900 € per sqm. on the hills, from 4,700 to 8,000 € in atypical neighbourhoods such as the Old Town of Antibes, those close to the beaches and on the cape”. For houses, he says that prices range from 450,000 to 2.5 million euros, more for outstanding properties. “Which are to be found in several privileged micro-neighbourhoods such as Les Brusquets, Badine and Rastines-Constance.” By way of example, the agency’s portfolio contains a 5-bedroomed property of 300 m2 in about 2,000 m2 of grounds with a heated pool, priced at 1,929,000 €. “The clientele for Antibes is comprised of members of the working population, who mostly drive back and forth to Sophia Antipolis, foreigners looking for holiday homes in the sun, retirees and investors drawn
by attractive rental income.”