The east side of Lyon, an area drawing renewed interest

Décines-Charpieu, Saint-Bonnet-de-Mure and Heyrieux offer a pleasant compromise between town and country at the gateway to large cities and the main pools of employment in the Rhône and Isère. Estate-agents describe a market both varied and appealing...

In the suburbs east of Lyon, exactly 12 km from the centre, Décines is home to 25,570 people at the edge of the Grand Large reservoir. Benefiting from bus connections and the tramway since the end of 2006, the area has all the shops and amenities necessary for daily life, including a clinic and sports facilities. 15 km from the prefecture of the Rhône-Alpes region, Saint-Bonnet-de-Mure has chalked up rising population figures since the 1960’s. The increasing share of residents aged from 20 to 40, ie. young working households, illustrates its buoyancy. The commune hosts 435 firms providing 2,700 on-site jobs. Heyrieux lies at the centre of the Lyon-Vienne-Bourgoin triangle, in Isère. Its 4,750 residents share a site boasting 60 sports and cultural associations, and 70 neighbourhood shops.

Décines is a 15-minute ride on the tram from La Part-Dieu. Public transport and easy access are weighty arguments,” says Damien Boucq of Guy Hoquet L’Immobilier Décines. Prices of apartments range from 2,000 €/m2 - a ratio applying to 1970’s residences sometimes lacking in certain amenities and modern energy performance - to 3,000-3,500 €/m2 for new developments, depending on their location. The appearance of numerous new resid­ences led to less demand for old apartments in the second half of 2012. Prices of individual houses are holding steady, fuelled by high demand for “pavillons” of 90-100 m2 to renovate or freshen up, from 200,000 to 300,000 € if they are semi-detached, 300,000 to 350,000 € for detached homes. Overall, buyers’ budgets have declined and they defer their plans unless they are obliged to move. Spending money on personal pleasure - ie. improving one’s living conditions without there being any real urgency - is relegated to second place. The most recent sales handled by the agency involved three apartments priced from 150,000 to 190,000 €, a home to renovate at around 200,000 € and a terraced house in good condition, at 270,000 €. Work undertaken in the town centre over the past few years, aimed at providing new shops, is now bearing fruit. The days when Décines was looked upon as a drive-through town between Lyon and Villeurbanne are now forgotten : to­day, it is a pleasant place to live. Residents appreciate the open green areas and biking paths, not forgetting improvements to the riverbanks. Finally, high demand for rented accom­modation has a positive effect on the investment market. Suitable properties offer a yield of around 4 %, but, more importantly, the assurance of a long-term asset.

“Just 10 minutes away, Saint-Bonnet and Saint-Laurent-de-Mure propose the advantages of urban areas as well as those offered by rural zones,” adds Pascal Bayle of Guy Hoquet L’Immobilier Saint-Bonnet-de-Mure & Heyrieux. Between distribution platforms in northern Isère and the industrial centres of Genas, Saint-Priest, Saint-Bonnet and Saint-Laurent, the activity zone proves to be very attractive. The proximity of the Lyon Saint-Exupéry airport and its TGV station explain the presence of buyers wanting to travel back and forth to Paris. The address also draws the interest of first-time buyers and people from Lyon or Villeurbanne wanting to swap their apartments for houses of 90-100 m2 with gardens of 500 m2, costing from 260,000 to 280,000 €. Homes of 120 m2 in grounds of 1,000 m2 or more, priced from 360,000 to 400,000 €, also have their fans, ever more demanding in terms of location. Small surface areas are popular among investors. The Heyrieux area consists of small rural communes laid out around lively centres. The further one gets from Lyon, the further prices drop, attaining a difference of 5 to 10 % less, depending on the category. Some buyers see this possibility as a fall-back solution. Others, who usually come from these villages, remain loyal to them.

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