Montélimar and the surrounding region, at the gateway to Provence

Close to the gorges of the Ardèche and at the foot of Le Vercors, Montélimar owes its name to the Adhémar de Monteil family which built a palace here. The town and nearby villages are popular for their climate and typical Provençal charm.

Montélimar is known as the gateway to Provence. About 40 minutes from Valence, 1 hour from Avignon, 1 hour 30 minutes from Lyon, Marseille, Grenoble and Montpellier, this town with 36,194 inhabitants has a go-ahead economy. Since the start of the crisis, it hasn’t seen any waves of redundancies and seems to be “moving forward” with a property market blessed by steady demand, despite a certain “wait-and-see” attitude observed at the beginning of this year. “The market is a little tense, but we still have a clientele looking for homes, both to buy and rent,” says François Lopez of the agency Les Allées which has continued to chalk up growth over the past two years by acquiring real-estate portfolios. Full of charm but often in need of renovation, houses in the centre of Montélimar arrive on the market in dribs and drabs. When one of them, an attractive bourgeois house, for example, does come up for sale, it soon finds a taker. One such example of about 200 m2, built in the 1900’s at the heart of town, with spacious rooms, parquet floors, a fireplace, lots of character and a garden of 800 m2, bears a price-tag close on 450,000 €. Also in the old town, an apartment of 300 m2 with a huge terrace, in a house dating back to the Renaissance, is on offer at 580,000 €. For a village house of 150 to 200 m2 with a garden of at least 350 m2 and, ideally, a pool, one needs a budget of 350,000 to 550,000 €. Good-sized apartments of around 120 m2, with comfortable amenities and close to shops, have already been snapped up and are now rare commodities. Estate-agents also mention a scarcity of properties under 150,000 €, which usually enable young people to acquire their first homes.

The first phase of the new ZAC of Maubec, an area of about 500 acres above Montélimar, met with real success. It offers turn-key “pavillons” priced at 170,000 €, 190,000 € and 200,000 €, with gardens of 300 to 450 m2, with or without garages. Highly-prized addresses, the Chemin de Gery and Chemin du Bois de Lion draw senior executives and retirees who pay from 500,000 € for bourgeois houses with gardens. These older parts of town with parks and woods have become residential areas. Appreciated by Parisians, Lyonnais, Grenoblois, but also buyers from northern France sometimes transferred here for professional reasons, Montélimar resembles small towns in Provence with pleasant life-styles. Its rental market is flourishing : on average, a 1-bedroom apartment costs 400-500 € per month, a 2-bedroom apartment 550-650 €, and a 3- or 4-bedroom apartment with a terrace and garage 700 € per month.

The area surrounding the town offers the advantages of living in the country without being deprived of amenities. Fans of old stones and authentic residences will find what they’re looking for within a radius of 30 kilometres. The east and south-east are in high demand, renowned for their so-called “properties of character”, bourgeois homes, “mas”, “bastides”, “mazets” and châteaux. A restored “mas” of 200 m2 with grounds of 8,000 m2 will fetch from 550,000 to 650,000 €. It will immediately appeal to a local or someone in search of a holiday home. “The area south-east of Montélimar, which corresponds to the Drôme Provençale, is the most highly sought-after address because it has all the features offered by Provence, olive-trees, lavender etc…,” explains Denis Allouche of the Solis agency. In the case of a large property, of around 300 m2 on 2.5 acres of land, the price can attain 750,000 €, even 1 or 2 million euros and more. Who are the buyers ? For year-round homes, senior managers and self-employed professionals ; it’s not rare to see a doctor leave Paris to come practise in the region. For holiday homes, the buyer profile is broader : a clientele composed of a majority of French clients from Paris, Lyon and eastern France, but also Belgians (great fans of Provence and old stones), the Swiss (Geneva is only 3 hours away), English (making a comeback) and occasionally buyers from Luxembourg. “La Drôme benefits from a privileged position, and purchasers arriving from Paris, Lyon, Grenoble, London or Belgium are looking for sunshine and a property of charm and character,” confirms Françoise Dessoy of Campagnes du Soleil. Within a radius of 30 kilometres around Montélimar, the villages of Sauzet, Marsanne, La Bégude and Mirmande all meet these requirements. From village houses to châteaux, these clients in search of old properties are sometimes prepared to invest several million euros to become modern-day lords of the castle. Inevitably a micro-market, the château in fact sees steady demand. There are genuine fans, wanting to give a second lease of life to buildings that time has not always spared. For 700,000 € and the cost of restoration, a château can thus become a family home.

With steady demand and properties sometimes over-valued, Montélimar and its surrounding region offer an unspoilt aura of Provence. All the lights are green for go for the market to rise, on condition that banks make mortgages easier to obtain.