Bordeaux Croix-Blanche, a prime location

Widely covered in the press, Bordeaux has long been lauded as the “best destination” in France. Its popularity seems unlikely to fade, as the fundamental factors contributing to the city’s quality lifestyle are indeed excellent. Quality that can be felt in all of its neighbourhoods, especially that of Croix-Blanche.

Just a few minutes from the city centre, Croix-Blanche is a residential area offering a serene family atmosphere. From nursery level to higher studies, a considerable number of schools provide good education. A wide variety of shops cover all the residents’ needs while many events of all different kinds, cultural and sporting, organized by the municipality, make for a lively neighbourhood all year long.

According to Olivier du Parc Locmaria, manager of the Étude Saint-Seurin - Century 21 : “The Croix-Blanche neighbourhood is a mix of everything you can find in terms of properties in Bordeaux”. It in fact offers lovely freestone family residences, small, simple stone “échoppes”, select residences and large blocks of apartments with lifts, very important to elderly clients. At the entrance to the hyper-centre of Bordeaux, there is thus a wide variety of accommodation and, consequently, a wide range of prices. “Demand, which is very steady, is not always met, due to the lack of properties on offer” says our expert. He can nonetheless mention a few recent transactions that illustrate today’s market, such as a 2-bedroomed apartment of 80 m2 in the “Jardins de la Visitation”, in a quality residence, with a terrace, garage and lift, priced at 378,000 €. On Rue Rosa Bonheur, a native of Bordeaux living in Paris just invested 220,000 € in a 1-bedroomed apartment of 62 m2, currently leased, in a stone building. Finally, Olivier du Parc Locmaria mentions a lovely family residence of 200 m2 with a garden of 130 m2, which he sold for 800,000 € to French buyers returning from abroad.

As explained by Edouard Poulin of Poulin Immobilier : “Croix-Blanche is an area prized above all for its closeness to the hyper-centre of Bordeaux, but also for its houses of 200 m2 with gardens, priced around 800,000 €”. An outdoor area is in fact a sought-after advantage that particularly benefits Croix-Blanche as compared to the heart of town. Clients, mostly families, also appreciate apartments in 1970’s residences for their comfort, spaciousness and indispensable parking facilities. Parisians also comprise a high percentage of the clientele, and have done for quite some time. Taking the up-coming introduction of the LGV train into account, many of them have appeared and increased the numbers of rental investors. If they acquire a property for year-round occupancy, these clients do not hesitate to undertake extensive renovation, a bonus for the area’s overall property scene. As for rental investments, Edouard Poulin points out that : “Rents have only risen very slightly as compared to purchase prices”. Once all the costs have been taken into account, this type of investment thus proves to be of a long-term nature, rather than one focusing on immediate yield.

Based for almost 30 years in Saint-Seurin, the Agence Alpierre managed by Yveline Desclaux-Cassagne lies at the heart of the Croix-Blanche and Saint-Seurin property market. Long experience enabling her to measure the evolution of this market and its prices better than anyone else. “The neighbourhood is seeing remarkable momentum, especially with the arrival of quality shops. Demand is getting stronger and stronger, with prices inevitably rising.” Soon, the introduction of the BHNS (”Bus à Haut Niveau de Service”) will provide comfortable, fast and frequent services to the centre of Bordeaux and the train station. Clients set on Croix-Blanche and Saint-Seurin, mostly consisting of families due, in particular, to the good choice of schools, appreciate the lovely houses which comprise this property market, and especially a lifestyle whereby everything can be done on foot, thus considerably reducing the use of a car. With the appearance of the BHNS, these families will also be able to reach the hyper-centre easily and speedily.