Pornic, a highly-prized address on the Côte de Jade

While it draws 100,000 visitors a day at the peak of the summer season, half of them owning holiday homes, the lovely Pornic is also a lively commune all year round. From 1850 onwards, this town on the Côte de Jade has endowed itself with luxury villas and houses with lots of character. All desirable residences for a well-heeled middle class...

Frequented in turn by Jules Michelet, Jules Verne, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Albert Camus, Pornic has never paid the price of uncontrolled urban expansion. The pleasure of bathing combined with the enjoyment of sport, endless walks around the Château and along the old customs paths..., no-one gets bored in this town in Le Pays de Retz boasting an 18-hole golf-course, a casino and thalasso­therapy centre. Better still, life is for the living ! Its 14,100 residents benefit year-round from its facilities, shops and services, 45 km south-west of Nantes and 20 km south of Saint-Nazaire. Nothing’s missing, from the hospital to schools up to secondary level, not forgetting sports associations. Of the 11,235 homes recorded by the INSEE in 2008, 6,117 are main residences, 4,644 second homes.

“Pornic partly owes its popularity to its two harbours, its diverse and colourful architecture, its well-controlled urban planning and its idyllic location at the edge of the ocean,” say Sylvie Charpentier and Fabienne Durand of the Agence de la Ria. “In the historic centre, attractive buildings recall the town’s sea-faring vocation. The Ville Haute perpetuates traditions, even in its cuisine.” In a good location and proposing quality appointments, a house can reach or even exceed 1 million euros. Far from playing at Sleeping Beauty, the town gives precedence to new accommodation. As illustrated by a high-class residence 50 metres from the harbour, with 2-, 3- and 4-bedroomed apartments priced from 355,000 € exclusively marketed by this agency. The aptly-named “Villas du Golf “ then propose low-energy BBC apartments : a 1-bedroom example of 40 m2 costs 175,000 €. Other residences are also rising from the ground as part of a development project for La Ria, including one des­igned for seniors likely to draw the interest of the locals, but also investors taking advantage of the LMNP Censi-Bouvard scheme. Prices here start from 110,000 €. In old buildings, 1-bedroom apartments cost about 150,000 €, more with a view of the ocean. A house of 80-100 m2 less than 2 km from the Atlantic will be priced at around 350,000 €. Owners of second resid­ences appreciate the Gourmalon neighbourhood, and that of Le Nœveillard, located between the two harbours. Here, one needs a budget of 1,385,000 € for a large property with four suites in the main residence, a guest cottage, spa and heated pool in grounds of 1,282 m2. In the Ville Haute, small fishermen’s houses of 50 to 70 m2 range from 150,000 to 200,000 €. In these troubled times, bricks and mortar are seen as a safe investment.

Marc Tessier of the Agence des Flots, based in Pornic for the past two decades, mentions a slowdown in demand for the middle and high ends of the market, ie. properties worth 400,000 € and more. This sluggishness reflects the current hesitancy, but also lower purchasing power. While mortgage rates are at record lows, obtaining a loan is complicated without any personal contribution. As for seniors, they cover the cost of their acquisitions and any further investment by selling their homes in their native regions, an operation not always as fruitful as they may have imagined. 75 % of transactions in Pornic concern year-round homes. More than half the buyers come from other towns, Paris, Tours, Angers or Nantes. They like the horizontal style of urban planning and mostly set their sights on a house, preferably near the ocean and shops. Properties built in the 1960’s-1980’s are frequently in need of modernization. A standard home of 100 m2 in good condition with a garden and garage ranges from 350,000 to 400,000 €. Investors are rather thin on the ground : rents do not reflect the high cost of land, which means that the yield is somewhat limited. Main residences are seeing further development, followed by infrastructures, which are already ultra-satisfactory. Pornic has three distinct markets : the coast, highly-prized by retirees and occasional residents, the centre, more affordable, and the countryside, invaded by first-time buyers and members of the working population in search of spaciousness.

“On the one hand, clients are prudent ; on the other, sellers are waiting for better days, if they have a choice. Overall, prices are lower, though they’re certainly not collapsing. At the moment, all the prices posted are automatically subject to bargaining,” explain Emilie Maiche and Maguy Delaire of the Agence du Vieux Port, with 15 years of experience in the area. The Côte de Jade in general, and Pornic in particular, nevertheless benefit from genuine appeal. With its generous array of shops and amenities, this little town is lively year-round and only 45 and 20 minutes respectively from Nantes and Saint-Nazaire by train. The golf-course and thalassotherapy centre serve as flagship attractions, and the harbour brings in a well-off clientele fond of yachting. The quaysides are being treated to a facelift and a botanical park

should soon open its doors.