The area south of Toulouse

The villages in the urban area of the capital of Haute-Garonne offer a rural setting, real quality of life and more or less attractive prices, at the gateway to the region’s large pools of employment. Our estate-agents fill in the details...

28 km south-west of Muret and 49 km from Toulouse, Rieux-Volvestre, bounded to the west by the Garonne, is home to 2,400 people. Cereals are still grown here, even if agricultural land is tending to disappear, making way for residential development which is currently booming thanks to the proximity of the Pink City. The medieval town, which still bears architectural traces of the bishopric (1317-1801), houses a healthcare centre consisting of doctors’ surgeries, a retirement home, specialized centres and a pharmacy, as well as sports facilities including a football pitch, three tennis courts and an indoor swimming pool. Villefranche-de-Lauragais, an ancient walled city founded in the 13th century, stands on the Deux-Mers motorway (A61) between Toulouse and Montpellier and the Sète-Bordeaux railway line. This town with 4,050 residents provides schools to secondary level, a clinic and traditional markets. Portet-sur-Garonne, with 9,800 inhabitants, is situated on the southern outskirts of Toulouse, at the confluence of the rivers Ariège and Garonne. Crossed by the road to Spain and the A64 motorway, the town also benefits from train services. Five main areas should be mentioned here : the centre, the Récébédou neighbourhood, Clairfont, Le Ramier and the shopping zone, which can lay claim to the largest Carrefour hypermarket in Europe boasting a surface area of 23,000 m2. Visitors appreciate the Musée de la Mémoire, while fans of nature, flora and fauna head for the Parc du Confluent.

“Rieux offers a busy community life and a go-ahead town-hall. There’s a friendly atmosphere appreciat-ed by newcomers,” says Christine Rosso of the agency bearing her name. 20-30 % of transactions can be ascribed to first-time buyers. Some, provided with a total budget of 170,000 €, set their sights on building plots available from 60,000 to 75,000 €. Others capable of paying 120,000-130,000 € opt for village houses of 90-100 m2 to renovate or freshen up, sometimes without a garden. Transferees or locals attracted by the rural surroundings pay from 250,000 to 270,000 € for recent villas of 110 m2 with gardens of 800-900 m2, often on housing estates. If they provide the bulk of the activity, they tend to be very demanding, particularly in terms of proximity to town centres. They agree to move away from Toulouse, a 20-25 minute train ride, but not from amenities. Over and above 400,000 €, a much less active segment of the market, they are looking for old buildings or farmhouses with character, living space of over 170 m2 and grounds of at least 3,000 m2. Quality of life is the main priority. The 2008 financial crisis brought activity to a halt and led to lower prices as well as longer completion times. Still today, activity is particularly sensitive to national and international news, and subject to wide fluctuations.

“The rolling countryside of Le Lauragais offers lovely scenery,” says Virginie Momi of Sogil Immobilier. “35 km from the prefecture of Haute-Garonne, Villefranche benefits from a motorway exit. With traffic flowing smoothly at all times, you reach the ring road in just 12 minutes. In fact, 70 % of buyers here work in Toulouse. From their point of view, the appealing prices in the third outer belt make for a very strong argument.” The range of properties is quite wide, despite the limited number of apartment buildings. Village houses of 100 m2, restored and extended by a courtyard or small garden, cost around 220,000 €, villas with 3 or 4 bedrooms and a garden of 2,000-2,500 m2 from 250,000 €. These two types of homes are the most sought-after, and also the most widely represented in agency files. Lauragais farmhouses are of a kind specific to the region. They usually offer living space of 300 m2 on about 2.5 acres of land, and range from 600,000 to 1 million euros depending on their location and the quality of their renovation. The announcement of new regulations for capital gains resulted almost immediately in offerings of properties, very attractive in terms of value for money. Potential purchasers followed suit, motivated by relatively apealing interest rates and the possibility of being eligible for the PTZ. The last five sales orchestrated by Sogil concerned building plots at 90,000 € and villas priced around 260,000 €.

“Just next door to the future Canceropole, Portet-sur-Garonne is close to the Toulousain metro station of Basso-Cambo. The city bus from the Capitole also serves this countrified commune in the first belt,” note Josiane Soulié, Lucien Bar and Olivier Lefevre of Legran Immobilier. Their clients include managers, engineers, self-employed professionals and employees in the service sector. A simple “pavillon” of 100 m2 with a garden of 500-700 m2 costs about 280,000 €. Ten kilometres further out, one can find an equivalent property 30,000 € cheaper. Josiane Soulié mentions the recent sale of a residence of 180 m2 with a garden of 600 m2, near the shopping zone, acquired by clients employed in Toulouse for 400,000 €. The starting price is around 200,000 € for semi detached houses in Récébédou. Characterized by very pleasant scenery along the river, Portet-Village, Ramier and Clairfont are, on the other hand, highly prized. Unfortunately, sellers are not keen to lower their prices, thus slowing down a smooth flow of transactions.