The hyper-centre of Bordeaux : a blue-chip investment

Substantially transformed and largely embellished since the years 2000, the hyper-centre of Bordeaux is in steady demand despite its high prices. A prestige market where investments are sounder than ever before.

If Bordeaux was voted in June as the favourite town of the French (according to a survey by the Observatoire du Bonheur carried out by the CSA institute) with about 19 % of the votes, ahead of Montpellier, Toulouse, Nantes and Nice, it’s largely thanks to its city centre. Treated to intensive rehabilitation over the past ten years (introduction of the tramway, development of the Quais de la Garonne…), which uncovered a remarkable architectural heritage bringing it classification in UNESCO’s World Heritage in 2007, the area in fact offers a very lively and particularly pleasant urban life-style. The popularity of its property market thus continues to grow, especially in the prestigious “Golden Triangle” (defined by Cours Georges Clemenceau, Cours de l’Intendance and the Allée de Tourny).

“Bordeaux’s hyper-centre is seeing a very brisk rate of transactions, at prices which are remarkably well maintained. Some sales are even concluded at prices well beyond the norm,” says William Andrieu, property advisor for the Agence B. Lafaye (former Maison Le Deunff, founded in 1935 and taken over in 1979), specializing in high-end properties in Bordeaux and within a radius of 100 km around the town. “The price per sq. metre is systematically above 5,000 € and may exceed 7,000 € in the Golden Triangle. By way of example, we are currently proposing a loft-style apartment facing the Place des Quinconces with two bedrooms and a terrace, priced at 848,000 €, and an 18th-C. apartment facing the Jardin Public with two bedrooms, well-preserved old features, a balcony and terrace, at 1,036,000 €.” The majority of buyers of these properties are from Bordeaux or Paris, “who have been very active since the start of this year. The introduction of the new LGV which will take passengers to and from Paris in only 2 hrs 5 minutes by 2017 naturally draws investors. Otherwise, we receive enquiries from a few foreign buyers and French ex-pats who invest in the centre to prepare for their return to France”.

Lancelot Immobilier, an agency opened in 2009, handles sales, rentals, property and co-ownership management in the centre of Bordeaux (hyper-centre, Saint-Seurin, Jardin Public, Les Chartrons, Saint-Pierre), Caudéran, the neighbouring commune of Le Bouscat, and occasionally around the Bassin d’Arcachon and on the Basque coast. Its manager, Alexandre Duflot, confirms the market’s vitality : “Demand for the hyper-centre is very strong. Bargaining is also limited here, allowing for real price stability”. He explains that there are two main kinds of requests : “Apartments intended for families, offering large surface areas ranging from 100 to 150 m2, and smaller apartments acquired by investors for seasonal rentals. The market is, in fact, seeing constant progression. For example, we are currently selling an apartment of 65 m2 on the Rue Esprit des Lois - which needs refitting -, priced at 246,000 €, and typically dedicated to this kind of activity”. The agency’s clientele is again mainly from Paris and Bordeaux : “Once their children have moved on, many buyers sell their family homes in Caudéran to move into an apartment in the hyper-centre”.

Specializing in prestige properties in the hyper-centre and residential neighbourhoods in Bordeaux (Saint-Seurin, Primrose, Saint-Genès, Caudéran…), as well as the Bassin d’Arcachon, Juliette Champeil and Virginie de Kerhor, manageresses of the Bordeaux Montaigne agency (opened in 2011), confirm that transactions are exceptionally dynamic : “Following a relatively quiet year in 2014, the market has never been so busy. Demand is remarkably strong, and still rising. The hyper-centre attracts more and more people from Bordeaux, which was not the case some ten years ago. Though this new phenomenon especially concerns Parisians : three or four years ago, a couple from the capital would come into the agency every month. There are now more than one couple a week. And the family clientele wanting to live in Bordeaux is getting younger and younger”. As for prices, our estate-agents also point to a constant rise : “Our sales usually range from 6,000 to 8,000 € per sq.metre. But when the property benefits from a terrace, a lift and parking facilities - rare amenities in the centre - prices climb even higher”.

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