The property market for people working in Sophia Antipolis
Yann Cohignac - 10 September 2015
The largest science and technology park in France and even Europe, Sophia Antipolis is a major pool of employment on the Côte d’Azur which benefits the communes of which it is comprised and those around it. It is thus a highly-prized property market.
Founded in 1969 on parts of the communes of Antibes, Vallauris, Biot, Valbonne and Mougins, Sophia Antipolis gradually grew to become Europe’s N°1 technopolis. Today a “pole of competitiveness” with a worldwide vocation (one of 18 such “clusters” in France), it gives a real boost to the west side of the Alpes-Maritimes thanks to its 1,400 companies (including over 900 head offices) employing over 31,000 highly-qualified people in the fields of information technology and communication, the multimedia, energy and sustainable development. Sometimes referred to as the “French Silicon Valley”, it also hosts 5,000 students and researchers, and reputable international schools (with teaching adapted to the many different nationalities of the children of employees in the area) such as Mougins School, the intermediate schools of L’Eganaude and Niki de Saint Phalle, and the Centre International de Valbonne.
“Company employees from Sophia Antipolis thus look for homes on the basis of two main criteria : closeness to their workplace, of course, but also that of schools and especially the CIV,” says Gerald Gomis, director of Blue Square, which has six international agencies (including two in Valbonne-Sophia) proposing service of superior quality (A-to-Z assistance, real after-sales service, 15 languages spoken…), especially for an English-speaking clientele. “These clients, who account for 25 % of our local activity, thus aim to settle in Valbonne, Biot, Antibes, Mougins, Opio, Le Rouret or Roquefort-les-Pins, or maybe further back in the hinterland - Le Bar-sur-Loup, La Colle-sur-Loup… - where prices are more affordable.” Two main categories of buyers stand out : “First-time buyers, usually young couples with a toddler looking for an apartment, new if possible, with budgets ranging from 250,000 to 350,000 € ; and families with several children envisaging their second acquisition within a price range of 650,000 to 850,000 €. The latter are most often in search of villas in good condition with four bedrooms and a pool”. Blue Square recently sold, for example, a 2-bedroomed apartment of almost 70 m2 with a garden priced at 249,000 €, and a 4-bedroomed villa of 190 m2 with a pool, at 850,000 €.
Marie-Jo Battesti, manageress of Octantimmo, chalks up about 70 % of her sales with people working in Sophia Antipolis. Collaborating with all the local estate agencies - independent or those belonging to large groups - in order to meet all her client’s requirements as efficiently as possible, she covers the area all around the technopolis : “In Valbonne, Biot and Roquefort-les-Pins, where demand is strongest among “Sophipolitains”, then sporadically in Antibes, Mougins, Grasse and Châteauneuf-Grasse. The most sought-after communes are popular for their proximity and easy access to and from workplaces and schools of quality, either junior, intermediate, secondary, both private and public, but especially the CIV. An efficient school bus service in fact allows children to be autonomous. Not foregetting that these villages lay on numerous activities all year round, and living conditions of higher quality than those offered by towns”. Enquiries mainly target contemporary or even Californian-style villas with three or four bedrooms and a pool, pegged from 500,000 up to 1 million euros. “The most highly-prized properties are those which do not need any renovation work.” By way of example, a new villa of about 215 m2 in 1,800 m2 of grounds recently changed hands in Biot for 950,000 €, while another villa of 170 m2, also in Biot, in grounds of 1,500 m2 with a swimming pool, sold for 599,000 €.
With over 50 % of Sophia Antipolis employees among his clients and an international clientele, Stephan Simon, manager of Homexa Immobilier, specializes in sales, rentals and management of high-end villas and apartments around the technopolis. The agence is well-known for the quality of its services (full handling of the project, advice, all-round assistance and follow-up). “In the case of sales, most demand is for Valbonne, Biot and Antibes, and especially the areas neighbouring on Sophia, near schools and school bus routes.” His very diverse clientele consists of employees, engineers, executives and company directors : “We are first contacted by young couples for 1- or 2-bedroomed apartments from 250,000 to 400,000 €. Then come families looking for small terraced houses from 350,000 to 500,000 €, then those with more substantial means, setting their sights on select detached houses with more living space. Finally, company directors are interested in top-notch villas whose prices can attain 2 million euros”. What about new properties? “New developments are also of interest to people working in Sophia, as long as they are not in a hurry to find accommodation. Compared to older properties, prices are usually 10 to 15 % higher.” A few recent sales completed by Homexa Immobilier illustrate today’s market : in a high-end residence with a pool in Sophia, a 1-bedroomed apartment of about 50 m2, priced at 260,000 € ; on the hills of Antibes, a terraced house of 80 m2, at 380,000 € ; and on a small estate in Mougins, a detached house of 140 m2 with a pool, at 690,000 €.