Menton’s very appealing seafront

A town with a strong Riviera-style identity, opening out to the Mediterranean, Menton has a seafront both picturesque and prestigious. An area popular among wealthy foreigners looking for holiday homes, and a very sound investment…

Enjoying a wonderful Mediterranean climate (virtually sub-tropical), Menton (population almost 30,000) is a “Town of Art and History” right at the water’s edge on the French-Italian border, just 7 km from Monaco. The “ Pearl of France”, known worldwide for its lemons and the Festival in their honour (dating back to 1928), thus offers remarkable living conditions. Especially in neighbourhoods on the seafront (with no less than six lovely beaches) : Madone-Carnolès to the west, Biovès and its Casino, the Old Town of Menton cascading down to the Mediterranean, and Garavan to the east, with its magnificent properties, gardens and sailing harbour.

It is in this last neighbourhood that the Agence Giotto has been based for over 20 years, a family-run firm set up in 1968 which has three more agencies in Italy (in Ventimiglia, Bordighera and Limone Piemonte) and proposes an un­usual type of service : management and hire of boats and yachts. “On the seafront, demand is mostly for 1 bedroomed apartments,” says negotiator Alberto Barla. “Those on the front row with side views of the sea or a view of the hills are priced around 300,000 €, while those facing the sea and benefiting from a terrace and parking place fetch 500,000 € or more.” Houses are virtually non-existent on the shore, though the agency is handling the sale of one very rare property : on a gated estate in Garavan, a period villa comprised of three apartments and annexes giving a total surface area of 320 m2 with a garden of 300 m2, priced at 4,240,000 €, ie. over 13,000 € per sqm. “An exceptional property, offering panoramic views of the sea and Old Town, which has played host to prestigious guests such as Queen Victoria of England.” Prices in Menton, “drifting slightly lower over the past two years”, are still rather unstable. Even so, demand remains strong : “It’s an active market, buoyed by foreigners looking for holiday homes right at the water’s edge. Many of our seasonal tenants and boat-owners decide to buy. And we are beginning to receive enquiries from clients who are actively employed, in search of their main home”.

Specializing in Menton’s property market since 1996, Sabine Guglielmi and her partner opened K&G International Properties in 2011 just opposite the Casino, in place and stead of an existing agency. It covers an area stretching from the Italian border to Beausoleil and Cap-d’Ail. She confirms the extreme rarity of houses on the seafront : “To find one, you have to head for the neighbouring commune of Roquebrune-Cap-Martin - comparable in places to Cap d’Antibes -, where they cost from 4 million euros”. The market on the coast is thus comprised of apartments whose prices range from 7,000 to 10,000 € per sqm, mainly depending on the residence’s prestige, the property’s condition and floor. “Just a few years ago, prices per sq. metre often exceeded 10,000 €, but they have dropped. The decline has, however, been less sharp on the seafront than elsewhere in Menton, as demand here always outstrips supply.” The most widely sought-after properties are 1- and 2-bedroomed apartments, as well as penthouses, as exemplified by a recent transaction at around 1 million euros. Sabine Guglielmi also recently sold an apartment of 70 m2 with a terrace of almost 15 m2, priced at 600,000 €. Her clients, once mostly Italian, now mainly come from northern Europe. “We also deal with wealthy French buyers, often from Paris.”

Tiphaine Eon, manageress of Tiphaine Immobilier, an agency covering Menton and Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, has been in real estate since 1990. In her opinion, prices on the coast are beginning to decline : “Which is boosting activity and speeding up sales”. By way of example, a 2-bedroomed apartment of 80 m2 with a parking place is currently up for sale at 480,000 €, whereas “it would previously have been on offer at 500,000-550,000 €”. On the other hand, prices are holding steady for luxury properties facing the sea, such as a 1-bedroomed apartment of almost 70 m2 in a renowned residence, which sold for 600,000 €, and a top-floor 2-bedroomed apartment which found a taker at 1.1 million euros. “Prestige apartments with refined appointments are particularly highly-prized.” Tiphaine Eon’s clients are less and less often Italian, and increasingly British. “They are making a comeback on Menton’s seafront after many long years of absence. A few French buyers are also making a reappearance. And we are seeing the arrival of Russian clients, especially for seasonal rentals, which represent the core of our activity.” In this respect, investing on the seafront is an excellent move : “A property for rent here is easily occupied nine months a year”.