Menton, an aura both national and international

The last town on the Côte d’Azur before Italy, just 7 km from Monaco, Menton is a choice address for a wide array of home-hunters : local buyers, people employed in Monaco, as well as investors aiming to offer seasonal rentals and foreigners looking for second residences.

Menton is very aptly nicknamed “The Pearl of France”. Its strategic location between Monaco and Italy, its Mediterranean climate, sumptuous gardens, magnificent seafront and historic centre make it an enchanting town offering a truly delightful life-style. True to its traditions, it celebrates its famous lemons in an annual festival drawing visitors from all over the world.

”Menton is an extremely active market,” says Julien Séglat of J.A.S Immobilier. “The most frequently requested type of property is the 2-bedroomed apartment, though there are lots of offers and demand for all kinds of accommodation (studios, 1- and 3-bedroomed apartments…), guaranteeing a high level of rotation.” He explains that the town can be split into four main areas. Garavan is the N°1 residential neighbourhood, attracting foreign clients (Italian, Dutch, Swedish…). They target lovely 2-bedroomed apartments from 70 to 90 m2 in good locations, with terraces and sea views, priced from 400,000 to 600,000 €. On the periphery of the town, near main roads, the valleys of Le Caréï, Borrigo and Gorbio are popular among local families who, benefiting from downward ajustments in prices and low mortgage rates, can now acquire 2-bedroomed apartments here at prices ranging from 220,000 to 260,000 €. As for the town centre and seafront, they offer smart, substantial residences with sea views, in which 2-bedroomed apartments fetch from 400,000 to 550,000 €. Seniors particularly fond of “doing everything on foot” are very keen on these residences. Finally, the historic part of Menton is mostly of interest to investors who find small surface areas here, ideal for seasonal rentals. One such client has just invested 147,000 € to acquire a 1-bedroomed split-level apartment of 30 m2.

Sabina Guglielmi of K&G International Properties also talks about a very busy market : “Sales go through at going market prices, and we are seeing rising demand.” Close to Monaco, Menton, just like the communes of La Turbie, Roquebrune and Castellar, offers much lower prices and is thus particularly appealing to people working in the Principality. On the hills behind Menton, one such local working couple recently acquired a contemporary house of 130 m2 with a sea view and some refurbishment on the agenda, for 650,000 €. Generally speaking, demand largely focuses on houses in Mentonnais style, whose prices range from 550,000 to 800,000 € depending on the living space and amenities (gardens, pool, views…). Naturally, in the highly residential neighbourhoods of Menton and Roquebrune-Cap Martin, prices for villas quickly soar. Depending on their condition and the specific residence, the most expensive apartments on the seafront occasionally attain 8,000 € per sq. metre if on the top floor. K&G International Properties mainly handles enquiries from clients with budgets from 400,000 to 1.5 million euros, in search of an apartment or villa with a sea view, terrace and parking facilities. “There are also some interesting opportunities,” confides Sabina Gugliemi. Like a local house of 90 m2, partly renovated and offered for

sale at 370,000 €.