Northern part of Loire-Atlantique

The extremely popular area of Sautron, the lush green valley of the Erdre and the attractive Pays d’Ancenis offer a landscape as varied as the types of properties available and their prices. From addresses which have long been highly-prized to more remote and affordable areas...

Ten km north-west of the capital of “département 44” and not far from the Nantes-Vannes expressway, Sautron is home to 6,900 people. Designated as one of the most luxuriant and flowery communes in the area, it lies between the valleys of the rivers Cens and Erdre. The latter, considered by Francis I as the loveliest river in France, alternates marshes and peat bogs. Bordered by the towns of Héric, Les Touches, Nort-sur-Erdre, Petit Mars, Saint-Mars-du-Désert and Sucé-sur-Erdre, it boasts a rich architectural heritage. 13 km north of Nantes, La Chapelle-sur-Erdre, bordering on Sucé, Carquefou, Grandchamps-des-Fontaines and Treillères, forms part of the urban area of Nantes. Rural to the north, more built-up to the south, this area has 17,000 residents who appreciate this pleasant compromise between town and country, the combination of 7 km of riverbanks and good public transport, roads, proximity to universities, cultural, sports and leisure facilities. Five minutes from the A11, Sucé-sur-Erdre with 6,350 inhabitants runs along the river for 13 km. This address is extremely popular. Finally, Le Pays d’Ancenis consists of 29 localities with no less than 57,750 residents. Oudon, the medieval castle of Champtoceaux and the Palais Briau de Varades are among the essential ports-of-call.

“Sautron is a town on a human scale, well-endowed with shops and amenities. To the taste of professionals and other kinds of executives, it offers generous land and well-built homes,” says Jérôme Peslier of the agency Vivre Ici. It is a 40-minute drive from the sea between the main Vannes and Rennes roads. Most transactions range from 300,000 to 450,000 €. A house in the centre with 4 bedrooms, one on the ground floor, in grounds of 830 m2, has just found a buyer at 370,000 €, while a residence of 200 m2 in grounds of 1,320 m2 recently changed hands for 516,000 €. Sellers are having a hard time adjusting their expectations to current market prices. Whence a waste of time and energy, and a more sluggish flow of business. Worn down by unproductive visits, some owners are even withdrawing their properties from agency files. Within the village, largely suburban in character, current offerings of apartment buildings do not meet demand. Low-energy BBC developments may emerge in the coming months, priced around 3,100 €/m2 versus 2,800 €/m2, the scale applied to apartments in older residences. Jérôme Peslier regrets the shortage and the evident lack of equilibrium between housing stocks and the real needs of buyers, not to mention their financial capabilities.

Arnaud Périon of Périon Immobilier mainly covers the valley of the Erdre, the favourite address of people employed in Nantes, ready to live 15 minutes from their workplaces and drawn by the charm of the natural environment, the level of facilities and quality of access roads. On the market for houses, prices range from 200,000 € - the budget required for a home of 70-80 m2 on an estate with a garden of 200 m2 - to 1 million euros and beyond - the price generally asked for a property of 200-300 m2 on the banks of the Erdre with 5,000 m2 to 2.5 acres of land. Appointments are of less importance than idyllic settings. Today, however, sales tend to fall more into the 200,000-350,000 € bracket. It becomes even harder to convince buyers as prices rise, particularly over and above 500,000 €. In this market sector, potential purchasers already have a house : in these troubled times, they think twice, especially when the acquisition is motivated more by personal enjoyment rather than necessity.

“Sucé, situated 4 km from the periphery road, also benefits from a view of the Erdre,” adds Jehan-Philippe Rondot of the Office Immobilier Filumena. “A little corner of paradise is naturally a highly-prized privilege, affected by the crisis later than other properties, and one of the first to come out of it. Classification of the river is an additional guarantee upholding preservation of the environment.” The arrival in September 2012 of the “train-tram” will be another factor in the town’s success. More generally, the region could benefit from the opening of the Grand-Ouest Airport. Finally, halfway between Angers and Nantes, two flourishing business centres just 20 minutes away by TER, the Pays d’Ancenis offers prices 30-40 % lower than those posted by equivalent properties in the first belt around Nantes. In Oudon, a sought-after spot on the banks of the Loire served by the train, a villa of 250 m2 in grounds of 2,800 m2 just sold for 420,000 €. The same property, on the banks of the Erdre, would fetch 700,000-800,000 €. Here, solutions are available for first-time buyers. A house of 120 m2 prolonged by a garden of 600 m2 costs 150,000 to 200,000 €.

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