The centre of Aix-en-Provence, still a very sound investment

With unique charm, 140 listed monuments, a cultural life of international renown, handsome bourgeois buildings and 18th-C. private mansions, the centre of Aix has succeeded in carrying out modernization while preserving its heritage. It is an address synonymous with a sound, high-quality investment.

Today, the former capital of Provence has about 141,000 residents. A thermal spa, a town of art and history, it plays host to a renowned university, founded in 1409 and now attended by almost 40,0000 students who search each fall for a small apartment, ideally in the town centre. A blessing for investors, who never have any problems finding tenants, even in buildings without elevators. Associated with Emile Zola and Paul Cézanne, who was born here, the town has several museums, an Art Centre, foundations, and a world-renowned music festival held each summer. Lots of assets drawing a clientele fond of art and culture from Lyon and Paris, who often settle here permanently once they retire.

“The centre is still a blue-chip investment as compared to the neighbouring markets, still on a downward trend. Prices here hold steady, especially as availabilities of desirable properties are scarce and thus highly-prized,” explains Guillaume Rey, director of the Actuel Immobilier agency, based on Cours Mirabeau for the past 20 years. By way of example, he mentions among his most recent sales an apartment of 110 m2 in the Cathedral neighbourhood. Benefiting from a garden of 200 m2 - a rare commodity in the town centre -, it sold for 950,000 € after being initially on offer at 1,050,000 €. “A concession which was perfectly acceptable,” according to our expert. Another example, on Rue d’Italie, concerns an apartment of 160 m2 with a garden of 100 m2 in a handsome 18th-C. building. In need of renovation, it has just been acquired by a Parisian client moving to Aix, for 960,000 €. Small surface areas are always sought-after by investors, who, by renting a studio or 1-bedroomed apartment in the centre to students, aim for a rental return of 3.5 to 4 %, while building a portfolio of high-quality assets.

“2014 has been a good year, with our turnover identical to that of 2013,” comments Laurent Creuset, director of the ERA agency. “From the start of the second half of the year, we observed the return of first-time buyers who made up for a lower number of investors. Clients always need to be reassured and backed up at every stage of the proceedings.” His recent sales in the historic centre include a renovated apartment of 60 m2 priced at 310,000 € - ie. 5,350 € per sq. metre - and an apartment of 90 m2 with 3/4 main rooms in need of a revamp, at 399,000 € - ie. 4,500 € per sqm. In the centre, prices are stable and remain high as compared to those posted on the outskirts. Depending on a property’s condition and especially its appointments, prices can soar to 8,000 € per sqm as, for example, in the residence “Les Allées Provençales” at the edge of the hyper-centre. Benefitting from parking facilities and elevators, apartments here start from 6,000 € per sqm. A parking place is an absolute necessity at the heart of town, especially as the municipality wants to make it entirely pedestrian. The clientele for apartments mainly consists of local workers with budgets ranging from 200,000 to 500,000 €. “This year, we have encountered more clients capable of paying 400,000 to 500,000 €, often cash.” A budget allowing them to acquire an elegant Aixois apartment (with red tiled floors, a fireplace, high ceilings) of 110 to 120 m2.

Covering Aix and its region for the past 7 years, the Barnes agency specializes in high-end properties, mostly worth over 1 million euros. “Many properties are currently available in differents areas within the commune. They appeal to a clientele of Parisians wanting to settle down comfortably in the South, and retired local couples who have sold their homes in more outlying areas, which have become too big and complicated to maintain. They now want to move back to town and benefit from the closeness of amenities,” says Sabine Ruiz, negotiator for Barnes. The choice is certainly there. Fans of the contemporary style will be won over by a split-level apartment of 237 m2 in loft style situated on one of Aix’s most highly-prized avenues. On offer at 1,350,000 € - ie. 5,600 € per sqm –, it embodies the type of rare and original property that can inspire love at first sight. Offering a more traditional but nevertheless sought-after style, a typically Aixois bourgeois apartment of 157 m2 on the 2nd floor of a fine town mansion is up for sale at 1,150,000 € - ie. 7,300 € per sqm. “As soon as one comes across a handsome and stylish property in an old building protected by the “Bâtiments de France”, the price is rarely beneath 6,000 € per sqm,” explains Sabine Ruiz.

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