The Port of Nice : a neighbourhood which has become a must !

An area which has preserved its pronounced Niçois identity while becoming the trendiest part of town, the Port now proposes a property market both lively and highly sought-after. A sound investment offering stable prices.

Treated to extensive development over the past ten years, the neighbourhood around the Port of Nice can be split into two distinct sectors. The first, around the port itself, mainly comprised of typical early 20th-C. buildings offering delightful views of the port and sea, has retained its authentic character. Benefiting from its proximity to the highly residential Mont Boron, as well as regular enhancements (restoration of Quai Lunel and Quai Papacino, the current construction of line 2 of the tramway…), it also plays host to more recent properties on the quiet Boulevard Franck Pilatte. Then, thanks to renovation of Place Garibaldi, Place Guynemer and the Place du Pin, the streets just behind, equally picturesque, have become the town’s most fashionable address with an ever-growing number of shopkeepers and trendy restaurants adding colour and liveliness to a remarkable neighbourhood lifestyle. Not forgetting, of course, the area’s immediate proximity to the Old Town of Nice and the heart of the capital of the Côte d’Azur (Place Garibaldi, Coulée Verte…).

“To some extent, the centre of Nice has moved to the Port, benefiting from attractiveness which grows with each passing year. It is now one of the most highly-prized neighbourhoods, if not N°1,” say Alexandre Lanfranco and Patrick De Mersseman, associate directors of Vizcaya, an historic agency based on the Port since 1994, specializing in the Port/Mont Boron/Franck Pilatte Triangle. “Line 2 of the tramway, which will go into service in 2017, will inevitably give rise to yet more enthusiasm. Not to mention higher prices.” Currently, apartments around the Port in good cond­ition, with sea views, cost on average 8,000 € per sq. metre. “The further one moves away from the Port, the lower the prices. Over towards Boulevard Delfino, for example, they are around 3,800 € per sqm. As for new resid­ences, they are pegged at about 5,000 € per sqm.” According to our experts, these prices have only seen limited declines since 2007. “Following a year 2014 marked by a wait-and-see attitude, we have seen a real recovery in activity since the month of January.” The Vizcaya agency’s clientele is comprised one-third of locals, one-third of Parisians and one-third of foreigners. “There are lots of investors, drawn by very appealing rental income.”

Julien Bernasconi is a negotiator for Haussmann Real Estate, an agency founded over 20 years ago, specializing in the middle and upper end of the market. Thanks to its offices in the Port neighbourhood and Beaulieu-sur-Mer, its covers an area stretching from the east side of Nice to Cap Martin, even as far as Saint-Tropez, Cap d’Antibes and Saint-Paul-de-Vence . “In the Port area, we focus particuarly on its immediate surroundings. On the quaysides, the price per sqm, without a sea view, ranges from 3,000 to 5,000 €. Otherwise, it ranges from 5,000 to 10,000 €, especially with a terrace. We are, for example, currently handling the sale of an apartment of 110 m2 offering a lovely view of the Port and Bay of Angels, plus a large terrrace, in a recent residence called “Le Neptune”, very well-integrated into the architecture around the Port and priced at 890,000 €.” On Franck Pilatte, “a particularly quiet seafront address”, prices can exceed 12,000 € per sqm in the case of top-floor apartments with views of the sea. “This micro-market appeals especially to our Scandinavian clients, though we have seen a gradual return on the part of British buyers since the start of the year.” Mostly contacted by foreigners looking for holiday homes, Julien Bernasconi comments on the real steadiness shown by prices.

“On Franck Pilatte, where you find recent residences with terraces, garages and sometimes a pool, prices range from 6,000 to over 12,000 € per sqm. This address attracts a well-off French and especially foreign clientele,” confirms Benjamin Mondou, General Manager of Century 21 Lafage Transactions, an agency created in 1980 with five agencies in Nice, Villefranche-sur-Mer and Beaulieu-sur-Mer. By way of example, his portfolio contains a loft-style apartment of 85 m2 with 2 bedrooms and a sea view, in a prestigious residence with a pool and tennis court, priced at 740,000 €. “Around the Port, an apartment with a balcony enjoying a sea view will cost from 7,000 to 10,000 € per sqm. A split-level apartment of almost 100 m2 offering a superb view of the port and a terrace of 20 m2 is thus up for sale at 855,000 €.” Around the Place du Pin, “a flagship address which has experienced a real metamorphosis over the past four years or so, especially in terms of prices”, Benjamin Mondou quotes prices per sqm. from 3,500 to 5,500 €. “As regards the Port, our clients are mainly active locals in their 50s, who leave the hills around Nice once their children have left home, to find more suitable accommodation in a lively neighbourhood close to the centre.”