Sainte-Maxime, high-end holiday homes

A Provençal town lively year-round and a family destination at the heart of the Gulf of Saint-Tropez, Sainte-Maxime offers a wide diversity of properties ranging from holiday apartments to large high-class residences, of interest to both French and foreign buyers.

In the département of the Var at the heart of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, Sainte-Maxime and its 14,000 residents are sheltered from the Mistral wind by the densely wooded hills of the Massif des Maures. The commune opens out to the Gulf of Saint-Tropez, with a shuttle ferry linking the two towns 10 months a year. Fréjus, to the east, and Grimaud, to the west, are reached via the Route Départementale running along the seafront. As for the RD 25, it leads to the A8 motorway, while a bus leaving from the town centre takes passengers to TGV train stations in Saint-Raphaël-Valescure and Les Arcs-Draguignan. In recognition of its quality tourist policy, Sainte-Maxime was designated a “Listed Tourist Resort” in 2011 : a circuit of historic sites, nature excursions, guided tours, watersports activities, an aqua park, concerts, shows… The many activities available and a setting popular among tourists from all over the world sketch out the contours of a real-estate market in which holiday homes are synonymous with a sound investment.

Valérie Dehais, manageress of the Marks Real Estate agency based in Sainte-Maxime since 2005, points out that buyers have a wide choice of high-end offerings : “Forty per cent of our clientele are French, 60 % foreign, mainly from the UK and northern Europe. They are looking for villas in impeccable condition with top-notch appointments, ideally in Sainte-Maxime. However, while location is an important factor in their search, some visit our properties in Beauvallon or Les Issambres”. Naturally, a view of the sea is also one of the main search criteria applied by these privileged and demanding buyers with budgets ranging from 1.5 to 4 million euros. They can choose between sublime neo-Provençal villas and a few in Californian style with roof terraces, recently authorized on the commune. Highly contemporary, this second type of property, in strong demand for its stylishness and rarity, costs from 3 to 4 million euros.

The market for apartments is shared out evenly between main and second residences. Laurent Vaugarny, manager of Jaurès Immobilier, an agency opened in 2006 which also specializes in property surveying, proposes diverse products of just as much interest to people working locally, including a few first-time buyers, as clients looking for a holiday pied-à-terre. “Buyers want a life-style close to the beaches and shops. So the most popular areas are, of course, the centre and the seafront, that’s to say the Croisette and Sémaphore.” Prices are pegged around 4,000 € per sq. metre on average, depending on the property’s location, view and quality. Apartments in high-class residences with pools and gardens may well attain 10,000 € per sqm. On average, prices for studios in 1980’s residences start from 100,000 €, those of 1 bedroomed apartments from 150,000 €. “The current trend is slightly down,” adds our expert.

Anthony Rossi, manager of Stil Immobilier founded in 2006, says that the market in Sainte-Maxime remains stable despite a slight decline in prices observed in the case of certain types of homes. “Today, most of our sales are concluded in new developments, of both apartments and villas.” The most highly sought-after properties ? “Apartments of up to 300,000 € in the case of holiday homes. Our retired clients wanting to live in Sainte-Maxime all year round opt for large apartments with sea views, such as one example of 110 m2 in the town centre that we sold for 650,000 €. Desirable high-end properties also still find takers, such as a Provençal villa of 160 m2 which sold for 1,300,000 €. In fact, only middle-of-the-range properties are harder to sell.”