The right bank of Toulouse

The prefecture of Haute-Garonne is also a go-head technopolis recognized at European level. The 4th largest commune in France after Paris, Marseille and Lyon, the 2nd largest university centre, the capital of the Midi-Pyrénées is crossed by the Garonne. The river defines two highly distinct areas. The unsinkable right bank has always met with great success.

It is, in fact, on this side of the Garonne that the Roman town was built and flourished, then the “Rose City”, characterized by the massive use of terra-cotta brick for its buildings. Out of favour for many years, the left bank was badly flooded in June, 1875. Rising in the Pyrenees, the Garonne initially flows towards the Mediterranean before heading for the Atlantic when it gets as far as Toulouse. Designed by Pierre-Paul Riquet, the Canal du Midi also winds its way through the right bank. Toulouse posts one of the highest levels of population growth in Europe, with an urban area of over 850,000 inhabitants. It owes its incoming flow of residents not only to an enviable geographic location, but also a quality life-style much appreciated both nationally and internationally. The “City of Violets” offers a growing number of diversified training courses while focusing its economy on dynamic fields such as aeronautics, biotechnology, meteorology, healthcare and electronics. New arrivals are, in fact, highly qualified.

“On the right bank, my activity mainly covers Le Château de l’Hers and La Côte Pavée,” explains Ghyslaine Pain of the Antarès agency. The first is a lively shopping neighbourhood with a good bus service, situated thanks to public transport about 10 minutes from the Place du Capitole. 2-bedroom apartments from 150,000 to 180,000 € are the most frequently requested properties, suiting first-time buyers as their main homes, a clientele widely represented here. La Côte Pavée enjoys an historic reputation, which also benefits its school. This neighbourhood offers town houses, often very well restored, posting prices that are not really justified compared with those applied elsewhere. By way of example, a home of 120 m2 opening out to a garden of 300-400 m2 costs around 600,000 €. Over towards La Terrasse or La Roseraie, the same property could be had for 500,000 €. Firmly set on their choice, buyers are aged between 40 and 50, and can generally afford to make a considerable down payment. These families are just as attached to amenities and a quiet setting as the prestige of the address, despite the lack of the metro.

“Le Faubourg Bonnefoy, a neighbourhood well-endowed with shops and amenities just 5 minutes from the Matabiau station, rubs shoulders with La Côte Pavée and serves as a fall-back market, offering similar accommodation at prices 20 % cheaper,” says Alexandre Monereau of the Agence Patrim’One. The real difference resides in the type of housing, here offering a wider choice. While “pavillons” built in the ‘sixties start at 300,000 €, some villas of at least 160 m2 can easily attain 600,000 €, with 2-bedroom apartments ranging from 90,000 to 250,000 €. Since the arrival of the metro, the neighbourhood of Les Minimes, laid out around a church, has the wind in its sails. A village atmosphere reigns supreme and the area is genuinely pleasant to live in. The perimeter around the station posts high prices, due to a real scarcity of availabilities. 20 metres away, a property of 120 m2 found a taker only two hours after being placed on the market, at 380,000 €, despite the additional 150,000 € required for its restoration. As for apartments, they are pegged from 2,000 to 2,800 €/m2. “The centre is never empty,” notes our estate-agent. Bearing price-tags of 3,000 to 4000 €/m2, the Places Dupuy, Saint-Etienne and Saint-Aubin always have their fans among young executives who enjoy city life, 50 and 60 year-olds wanting to return to an urban setting after selling their houses on the outskirts of the town. Rental investors are also on the look-out, as soon as a studio costing 80,000 € will bring income of 550 € per month. Given the difficulty in finding accommodation, students don’t hesitate to hang on to their lodgings throughout the summer and for the entire duration of their university course. Brick buildings top the poularity polls.

The Agence Mercure caters for a relatively well-off clientele, comprised of a few Toulousains, but mostly transferees from Paris, either French or European, company directors, self-employed professionals or young retirees. “The rise in the number of sales in 2011 immediately resulted in higher prices in the second half of the year, and a wait-and-see approach in the last two months of 2011,” comments Anne de la Sauzay. Over this period, she noted real enthusiasm for town houses as opposed to apartments, a trend that was reversed as compared with previous years. The average budget is close on 760,000 €, while the price per sq. metre, in the case of houses, averages 3,525 € in Toulouse, 3,676 € over towards La Côte Pavée, 3,824 € around Le Capitole, 2,778 € in Saint-Aubin, 3,825 € in Le Grand-Rond and 4,642 € in Les Chalets. Long-established families are always loath to part with their private mansions. Properties, especially top-end, are rare in Saint-Etienne, Les Carmes and Ozenne. Proving once again that location is still the prime motivation behind buyers’ decisions. An apartment of 170 m2 on Rue Deville recently changed hands at 840,000 €, while a tastefully renovated “Toulousaine” of 288 m2 with a pool left the files at 1,337,000 €. In fact, 1.3 million euros seems to represent a psychological barrier, beyond which signing on the dotted line becomes more complicated and much less frequent.