Bordeaux Fondaudège : a lively residential area

Ideal­ly located between the prestigious neighbourhoods of Jardin Public and Saint-Seurin, and in immediate proximity to the hyper-centre, Fondaudège is a lively, friendly and highly sought-after address. A sound value, with inevitably high prices...

An historic central neighbourhood encompassing Rue Fondaudège (between the Allée de Tourny and Rue Croix Seguey) and its neighbouring streets, Fondaudège proposes a pleasant village life-style. A major thoroughfare between the centre of Bordeaux and its north-western periphery (especially the highly-prized neighbourhood of Caudéran), it boasts many well-known proximity shops making for a lively atmosphere and much appreciated by local residents. They also appreciate the neighbourhood’s reputable schools and its living accommodation on a human scale. The tramway, whose introduction is still widely debated, is scheduled to appear within the next few years.

“In this popular neighbourhood where old buildings take pride of place - new developments are non-existant and recent residences rare -, you find beautifully rehabilitated buildings offering quality appointments, together with bourgeois town houses sometimes benefitting from gardens,” explains Guillaume Rachel, manager of RPI Laforêt Immobilier, which has three agencies in Les Chartrons, Saint-Genès and Fondaudège (opened in 2001). “The price per sq. metre is on average 3,500 € for well-preserved old features. It then rises depending on the quality and extent of any renovation carried out, but also, of course, on the closeness of the Allée de Tourny and the hyper-centre.” According to this expert, the local market is stable : “The destiny of Fondaudège is linked to that of Jardin Public, the most desirable neighbourhood in Bordeaux, together with the “Golden Triangle”. It’s a benchmark, an area which is quietly improving with evolution in the market.” Buyers here, often senior executives with children, come along with comfortable budgets : “Most of them are planning their second or third acquisition”.

Directing Blanc Miquel Immobilier since 1972 and based on Rue Croix Seguey since 2003, Benoît Blanc covers the entire Urban Community of Bordeaux (and especially the centre : Golden Triangle, Jardin Public, Saint-Seurin, Fondaudège, Croix-Blanche, Les Chartrons…). He also covers the Bassin d’Arcachon depending on enquiries : “Fondaudège, including Rue Croix Seguey in its prolongation, has become very popular, which explains its very steady prices. Which so far have not been affected by the plan for the tramway which, on the other hand, is having a real psychological impact - positive or negative depending on personal reactions”. In this market dominated by apartments, Benoît Blanc markets numerous properties to renovate, keenly sought by investors : “Proposed from about 3,200 to 3,500 € per sq. metre, they sell pretty quickly. For example, an entire floor comprised of two apartments with 1 and 2 bedrooms, in need of refurbishment, recently sold at 3,300 € per sqm, while a ground-floor apartment with one main room was acquired at 3,150 € per sqm”. For a property of sound construction and in good condition, one should expect to pay 4,000-4,200 € per sqm. As for houses, “a highly coveted commodity”, offers are limited. “They usually attract people from outside Bordeaux.”

In charge of transactions for Square & Hashford (an agency founded in 2007 covering the Urban Community of Bordeaux and the Bassin d’Arcachon), Catherine Croisel mainly and increasingly receives enquiries about Fondaudège from a young clientele aged from 30 to 40 : “They are drawn by a neighbourhood with shops that has become rather trendy, inside the boulevards and very close to the hyper-centre”. One of her most recent sales in the area was a stone house of 120 m2 in need of renovation, on a charming quiet street behind Rue Fondaudège : “Benefitting from a small courtyard, it found a taker at 345,000 €. He will have to devote a further 50,000 to 60,000 € to the cost of refurbishment.” Another illustration regarding houses : an unusual example of 120 m2, also to renovate, with 5 main rooms, currently up for sale at 357,000 €. As for apartments, Catherine Croisel has two different properties in her portfolio giving a concrete idea of the market : “In a recent residence with a lift, a 3-bedroomed apartment of 90 m2 with a small terrace and parking place which we sold two years ago at 370,000 € is back on the market for 410,000 €. Finally, in a handsome stone building, a warm split-level apartment of almost 140 m2 with 6 main rooms and a garage is currently on offer at 640,000 €”.