South-east of Toulouse, a varied choice

Escalquens, Muret and Revel offer three facets of the area south-east of Toulouse. More or less distant from the Rose City, these communes appeal to local retirees and the actively employed, but also to occasional residents in search of space and tranquillity...

Belonging to the agglomeration community of Le Sicoval, Escalquens is home to 6,000 people 15 km from Toulouse, at the edge of Le Lauragais and Le Pays du Pastel, not far from the Canal du Midi. Each day, most of the actively employed set off for the capital of Haute-Garonne, Labège-Innopole or the Parc Technologique du Canal. A few large companies are to be found on site - Midi-Pyrénées Plastiques, La Toulousaine and Gaches Chimie -, and residents are waiting for a shopping zone to be built. The sub-prefecture of Muret accommodates almost 23,900 residents at the confluence of the Garonne and La Louge. Agricultural zones are disappearing, gradually replaced by housing and industries. The Groupe Lacroix, Laboratoires Pierre Fabre and Editions Hubert have business premises here. 9,400 people live in Revel, situated in Le Lauragais at the foot of the Montagne Noire. Fifty km south-east of Toulouse, at the crossroads of Le Tarn, L’Aude and La Haute-Garonne, this locality plays host to a public hospital, municipal stadium and a swimming pool. For the past 600 years, farmers have sold their produce here on Saturdays, on a market listed as one of the finest in France.

Nadia Koslowski of Sud Propriétés covers the area from Escalquens to Muret. “This suburban setting lacks neither charm nor assets,” she says. Prices drop the further one gets from the prefecture of département 31. On an estate in Escalquens, a 1980’s house of 120 m2 which needs freshening up, with a garden of 600 m2, costs arounds 330,000 €. A similar budget will bring a recent house of 150 m2 with a garden of 1,000 m2 benefiting from a pool over towards Muret, where housing is less dense. It then all becomes a matter of choice between proximity and priv­acy. After a year of ups and downs in 2012, owners are finally agreeing to lower their prices. A downward adjustment of about 12 % is helping towards more completions.

“Revel is 45 minutes from Toulouse, 35 minutes from Saint-Orens, 20 from Castres and Castelnaudary,” says Florence Biso of Hall Immobilier. “Couples buying properties here often work in these towns, returning in the evening to rural areas now known as as the “Grands Sites de Midi-Pyrénées” or the lake of Saint-Ferréol, listed in UNESCO’s World Heritage.” A 90-minute drive separates Revel from the sea and the first ski slopes. 15 % of clients are looking for second residences, family homes they will use for holidays after spending the rest of the year in Paris, Lyon or abroad. They pay from 200,000 € - the sum required for a 3-bedroomed villa with a garden of 600-1,000 m2 - to 400,000 € - bringing a house of 180-250 m2 with character, in grounds of 3,000-6,000 m2 facing the lake, a renovated farmhouse of 200-300 m2 with 4,000 m2 to 2.5 acres of land, or even a contemporary villa of 180 m2 in grounds of 2,000 m2, a relatively rare commodity in this area. 60 % of the buyers are of working age with children. While some target the same price bracket, first-time buyers can afford to pay 80-100 €/m2 for building plots with a total budget of approx. 160,000 €, or from 120,000 to 150,000 € for a small 1960’s house with 2 or 3 bedrooms, in need of refurbishment. The middle category set their sights on town houses with outdoor areas, priced from 200,000 to 300,000 €. 15 % are pensioners, 10 % invest­ors, hoping to build on their assets or ensure additional income with an eye on later life. Yields of 5 to 6 % can still be obtained. Both sellers and buyers are realistic. The only setback consists of drastic conditions for mortgages. In fact, self-financed, or largely self-funded, acquisitions are the common denominator for the most recent transactions.