Montpellier, blessed by booming population figures...

France’s eighth largest town belongs to the trio of leaders with the highest population growth figures, alongside Nantes and Toulouse. Whether it is explained by professional reasons or the desire to enjoy blissful days in the South, this massive influx offers real potential for estate agents.

From 1990 to 2012, Montpellier’s population grew by 22.53 %, fuelled by real economic dynamism in fields such as information technology, healthcare, biotechnology, the environment and agronomy. Public facilities and new neighbourhoods saw the light of day, including Malbosc, Jardins de la Lironde, Port-Marianne and Parc Marianne, contributing to the diversity of housing possibilities. The town’s geographic position and the multiplication of its roads and means of transport are other important factors. The capital of Le Languedoc-Roussillon is 2 hrs 30 by road from Barcelona, 4 hrs from Geneva. It benefits from 14 daily flights to Paris (a 3 hr 15 minute ride on the TGV), and four tramlines crisscrossing the town. Boasting Greek, Iberian, Ligurian, Celtic and Roman influences, the city is proud of its 1,000 years of history. Today, its well-controlled urban planning forms part of a clear approach to sustainable development.

”Borne along by recent events on the sports calendar, Montpellier’s reputation at national level continues to grow,” says Alexandre Heintz of Carat Immobilier, particularly active in L’Ecusson and the first ring. “The prefecture of L’Hérault in fact enjoys a good image among people from elsewhere.” A wait-and-see attitude, inevitable during the elections, and the summer (more promising since mid-July), have led to a rather sluggish rate of business. Yet figures were encouraging until January 2012, driven by the concept of the property market as an alternative to financial investments. Alexandre Heintz mentions the sale of a 3-bedroom apartment of 88 m2 to renovate, close to the Sainte-Anne Church, at 258,000 €. It will be worth 330,000 € when the work is complete. Families keen to take advantage of urban entertainment are more than willing to live here year-round. As long as they are correctly estimated, studios and 1-bedroom apartments are also popular among rental investors either local or from outside the region, motivated by a net return of about 4-5 %. This type of acquisition is looked upon as both reassuring and competitive. The demand for houses is just as steady, especially as they offer a more advantageous price/surface ratio than apartments. From a certain level upwards, buyers of houses can obtain, for the same budget, a garden and a garage. The good public transport network has also opened up suburban areas. On the other hand, apartment buildings dating from the ‘sixties-‘eighties tend to suffer due to their outdated architecture and amenities, as well as their low energy performance. Furthermore, their prices are not yet low enough to ensure a satisfactory flow of transactions.

For the agency called Le Concept 2 Pourcent, Johanna Hernandez and Olivier Collet focus on the middle and high end of the market, mainly in the northern part of Montpellier. First-time buyers and rental investors will appreciate, for example, this 2-bedroom apartment of 65 m2 in the Alco neighbourhood, priced at 130,000 €. Enthusiasm for houses is sustained in the 800,000 to 1.2 million € bracket. Looking for contemporary architecture and top-notch appointments, potential clients, transferred to the city or future retirees, prove to be quite demanding. Foreigners fall for the charm of old stone, quiet, private and rural areas such as the villages of Saint-Gély-du-Fesc or Saint-Clément-de-Rivière. By way of example, a villa of 150 m2 in grounds of 1,000 m2 is worth about 700,000 €. Easy access to the motorways coupled with natural greenery explains the success of these addresses. Here again, the low end of the market for houses is struggling, due to a lack of cohesion between supply and demand.

Mathieu Hottegindre and Sébastien de Vreese of Mat & Seb target both a local and Parisian clientele in search of stylish properties. “Compared to 2011, there are considerably fewer foreign clients. On the other hand, long-term investors concentrating more on asset value and a good location than on immediate profitability are still in evidence, especially in the sector for old properties of character.” Completion of a sale then depends on the advice and follow-up provided by the estate-agent. The agency’s latest sales include a loft of 55 m2 with a terrace, snapped up in one’s day marketing at 227,000 € with hardly any bargaining. Another investor paid 225,000 €, without any discussion, for a 1-bedroom apartment of 61 m2 at the heart of L’Ecusson, likely to bring in 850 € per month. Finally, a couple transferred from Toulouse paid 340,000 € for an apartment of 105 m2 to renovate, with a terrace of 17 m2 and a garage, in a residence with a pool.

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