The area west of Lyon, lots of variety

Offering easy access and a pleasant life-style, this area consists of towns such as Charbonnières-les-Bains, Ecully, Tassin-la-Demi-Lune, Dardilly, as well as Les Monts d’Or. A harmonious alternation of urban settings and rural landscapes, it can propose various advantages at the gateway to Lyon.

Charbonnières-les-Bains stands on a plateau crossed by by little rivers below the Monts du Lyonnais. Wooded and undulating, it is home to some 4,730 residents, happy to benefit from a secondary school. Crossed by the A6, Ecully with 18,000 inhabitants boasts four clinics, a comic-strip festival and several reputable schools and colleges (Ecole Centrale de Lyon, Ecole de Management, Institut Textile et Chimique, Institut Paul Bocuse). The train station was renovated in 2009 to accommodate the arrival of the “tram-train”. Dardilly with 8,400 residents enjoys a luxuriant natural setting. At altitudes ranging from 260 to 390 metres, it offers magnificent views of the Monts d’Or, Monts du Lyonnais, Le Vercors, Mont-Blanc, and even the Alps. It is surrounded by 427 acres of forests, 1,595 acres of productive land and many trails dedicated to hiking, horse-riding and cycling. The small Massif des Monts d’Or, an area dotted with natural springs between the River Saône and the Monts du Lyonnais, consists of localities belonging to the urban community of Lyon, particularly appreciated by a well-heeled clientele. Finally, Techlid is known as an important business centre.

“The area west of Lyon has a wide diversity of properties and an equally wide array of prices,” say Béatrice Fabre and Delphine Clouzy of the Ouest Home agency. Building land, basic or high-class apartments, village houses, old residences, housing estates or more secluded homes… There’s something to suit all tastes. This variety enables the agency to meet the needs of first-time buyers looking for studios in Tassin or Ecully at around 100,000 €, as well as senior executives or self-employed professionals with budgets from 400,000 to over 1 million euros ; the lower price corresponding to a 3-bedroom apartment with refined appointments or a detached house of 100-120 m2 with a garden of 500-800 m2, the upper level to a bourgeois property of 300 m2 in grounds of 2,000 m2 with a pool. These higher budgets often involve cash payments, ie. no need for mortgages. The 750,000-850,000 € bracket brings desirable homes and draws a lot of interest. Adopting a highly personalized approach to their clients, our estate-agents have, in fact, just handled the sale of a house of 220 m2 in need of a revamp, in grounds of 2,000 m2 with a pond. 2011 was a buoyant year, and they say the current cruising speed is satisfactory. Quite normal, given the advantages being developed by these go-ahead communes, well-known for their shops, services and associations. Transport is also facilitated by the proximity of the motorway and the railway line. From Charbonnières, it takes 10 minutes by train to reach Lyon. One question-mark remains, however, with regard to harsher conditions applied by the banks for mortgages and rising interest rates. At the moment, this could be outweighed by the excellent coverage given to investment in property.

Pierre de Lune Immobilier is a generalist agence based in Le Bois d’Oingt, operating all over the region around Lyon. Backed by a hefty portfolio of properties to the west, Sophie Garcia-Escobar has a long list of arguments in favour of the address. “The west side of Lyon combines high-quality living with a countrified environment, a village atmosphere, an efficient public transport network, educational establishments posting high performance, active job pools and a surprising mixture of authentic farms and urban housing, all within easy reach of the capital of Rhône-Alpes. The only fly in the ointment : traffic jams in the Fourvière tunnel during the rush hours.” Her most recent transactions include a 1-bedroom apartment of 42 m2 in a 1960’s residence with swimming pool and tennis courts, over towards Ecully, and a property of 225 m2 in grounds of over 2,000 m2 with a pool in the centre of Dardilly, both priced at 3,500 €/m2. Finally, a house of 100 m2 offering genuine charm and a garden of 550 m2, at the end of a leafy cul-de-sac in Tassin, is currently the subject of a provisional sales agreement, at 4,750 €/m2. New properties are doing well. A development in Marcy-l’Etoile, slightly further out as compared to the first ring around the city, is priced, for example, at about 4,000 €/m2, a price similar to those practised in Lyon.

Covering Charbonnières to Caluire for the past 25 years, Luc Mettetal of the Primmo agency comments on the massive number of employees brought in by large companies, capable of paying from 500,000 to 1.2 million euros for their homes. “The main thing is to give an initial estimate which is correct : price is the decisive factor, with offers rarely going beyond 5 % of the price posted.” Buyers are clearly becoming increasingly concerned about energy performance. While, in general, the area offers real qualities in terms of peacefulness, the environment, geographic positioning and the social aspect, it is nevertheless heterogeneous. There are, in fact, significant differences in terms of amenities and appointments within the properties available. Saint-Didier, Saint-Cyr and Charbonnières top the bill, though Lissieu is gaining ground. “There’s a real gap between the alarmist attitude one can see in the media, and reality as seen by professionals here on the west side of Lyon, which could not be more encouraging.”