The Alpilles, an exceptional part of Provence

Alternating plains and reliefs, the Alpilles mountain range, 25 km long, plays host to 16 communes and some 43,000 residents. Highly prized by an international clientele, the Alpilles region is a prime address for charming holiday homes.

While Saint-Rémy-de-Provence and Maussane-les-Alpilles have enjoyed star status over the past few decades, Eygalières and Fontvieille have persuasive arguments to draw fans of an outstanding Provençal life-style. With excellent connections thanks to the TGV station in Avignon, the A9 and A7 motorways, the Alpilles boast superb historic sites such as the medieval village of Les Baux-de-Provence, Les Antiques in Saint-Rémy and the Romanesque chapel in Eygalières. A busy tourist region, it becomes lively from the spring onwards with cultural events of quality and fragrant open-air markets... While offering year-round all the shops and amenities required for pleasant everyday living. Stone “mas” and “bastides” are still the most sought-after properties, though houses with design influenced by the region around Salon, with high slate roofs, have definite appeal in Maussane. At the top of a hill, 5 km from Saint-Rémy, Eygalières is a village built of stone offering unique character, well-known for its wines bearing the “Coteaux-des-Baux” label. More discreet, Fontvieille owes its reputation to Alphonse Daudet who, with his “Lettres de Mon Moulin”, brought this authentic village eternal renown.

With two agencies in the area - one in Maussane, the other in Saint-Rémy -, Yannick Bouteloup of Happy Immobilier has expert experience of the entire region. Following a relatively quiet 2014, things are beginning to pick up. Contacts are being made, and clients seem genuinely determined to buy. However, the lists of demands on both sides of the equation are not making rapid completions easy. “It is a complex matter to get the two parties to come to an agreement,” says our expert. “Even if sellers are willing to post more reasonable prices, bargaining is legion.” Maussane and Saint-Rémy still top everyone’s list. Here prices are inevitably higher than on the neighbouring communes of Eygalières, Mouriès, Fontvieille... “Budgets differ widely. They range from 350,000-400,000 € for a small village house to several million euros in the case of international buyers ready to spend considerable sums in order to acquire an impeccable stone property surrounded by garrigue and olive-trees.” The crisis which hit this sector has also created a market of opportunities. Some owners need to sell urgently. To do so, they agree to put up their properties for sale at prices which are rare for the Alpilles. By way of example, Yannick Bouteloup mentions a “mas” of 280 m2 in the country benefiting from grounds of 2,300 m2 with a pool. In irreproachable condition, it just sold for 350,000 € in less than one month.

Authentic and lively, close to the Nature Park of the Alpilles, 5 minutes from Saint-Rémy, Eygalières faces vast fields of olive-trees, lush valleys and vineyards. While enjoying excellent connections, this commune composed of stone houses has preserved both its charm and peacefulness. “This market is still under pressure, though a slight improvement seems to be on the cards,” says Françoise Boscolo of the Alpilles Luberon Immobilier agency “Speaking generally, sellers have now “digested” lower sale prices, so we should soon see these prices stabilize. Buyers, mainly of holiday homes, still give priority to charm and quietness, in both old and more recent properties.” Confronted by a rather capricious market, the buyer, who now tends to follow reason rather than a whim, demands personalized service. Proposing a wide choice of properties, the Alpilles represent a sound investment combining long-term value and personal enjoyment.