Toulouse north : Aucamville, Saint-Jean and Castelmaurou

A quality life-style is the common denominator shared by these three communes. They have all succeeded in chalking up rising population figures without sacrificing their souls. They offer the advantages of large urban areas - without the disadvantages !

Fully integrated into the first urban ring around Toulouse, Aucamville is home to 8,000 people. In this small town once dedicated to the cultivation of violets, houses and apartments are shared out equally. A market has just been built to complete the already lively centre. Many festive and cultural events are organised, and over 60 associations are active year-long in this “friendly town, keen on solidarity and open to the world”, to quote its mayor. Saint-Jean, with 10,000 residents, benefits from public transport run by the prefecture of Haute-Garonne. Development undertaken over the past two decades has radically changed its appearance. In 1991, the first activity zone was built in the centre, together with the polyclinic and Espace René-Cassin. Later on, the Caisse Primaire d’Assurance Maladie, District de Football and Chambre Régionale des Métiers moved into the Tuilerie neighbourhood. Other activity zones - La Sausse, Ratalens, then Le Cassé - cater for companies. A crèche, drop-in centre, primary and intermediate schools, sports and cultural infrastructures, neighbourhood shops and services, all make day-to-day living easy for residents. They all appreciate the restructuring of the urban centre. Of the 4,142 acres that comprise Castelmaurou, 12 km from Le Capitole, 76 % consist of nature and farmland. Benefitting from easy access by road, this address is home to the Château de Preissac, where François I is said to have stayed. Dating back to the 12th century, the village now accommodates 3,667 inhabitants, a cinema, community hall, the Ligue de Midi-Pyrénées de Football and a pre-training centre.

“Aucamville enjoys immediate proximity to feeder-roads to the ring-road and the motorway heading for Bordeaux,” says Jérémy Vidal of CIV Conseil. “You can take the train to Toulouse from the Lacourtensourt station. And there are many bus services to the metro station of La Vache.” The town has an intermediate school, an outdoor Sunday market and a full array of shops. Activity for the three categories of homes currently shows a satisfactory cruising speed. First-time buyers opt for practical 2 bedroom apartments in residences built in the years 2000, with terraces or gardens, priced around 140,000 €, or 3-bedroom villas costing 220,000 €. Houses at around 350,000 € are also in demand. Often transferred to the region or with funds from a recent sale, clients for this type of home can make substantial down-payments or even pay fully in cash. They frequently rent before taking the leap.

”Residents in Saint-Jean are fond of the green zone which benefits from a lake, an idyllic site for fans of walking and running,” notes Sandrine Spanghero of Orpi Saint-Jean SBS. This residential neighbourhood is popular among families with the parents working in Toulouse, just 10 minutes away. Their average budget is about 320,000 €. Our estate-agent mentions the sale of a house of 131 m2 with a garden of 725 m2 and small above-ground pool, for 365,000 €. The pleasant rural atmosphere is its best argument, not forgetting the attractive prices. If there is a slightly slower pace to transactions, it should be placed in perspective with the necessary adjustments to be made between sellers’ expectations and buyers’ possibilities rather than attributed to a tense economic context. One out of every five sales are first acquisitions. These purchasers find what they need in terraced houses built in the ‘70s on the very well-maintained estate of Lestang, priced around 200,000-220,000 €. The commune bordering on Rouffiac-Tolosan also proposes select properties from 450,000 to 700,000 €. And in spite of today’s business climate, this sector still draws interest.

“Of the three addresses, Castelmaurou, just 2 km from the intermediate school in Saint-Jean, is the most airy. For equivalent budgets, it offers generous grounds and homes with quality appointments,” says Laurence Guiraud of Castelmaurou Immobilier. Families are quick to notice services for toddlers, from the primary school to the medical centre. Retirees are also drawn by the amenities, central square and “boulodrome”. A couple of Parisians transferred to Toulouse have just acquired a renovated village house of 120 m2, prolonged by a garden of 250 m2, for 260,000 €, while local buyers paid 300,000 € for a classic “pavillon” of 110 m2, built in 2000, in grounds of 1,500 m2. “The only flies in the ointment are the current wait-and-see attitude and a drop in the number of employees transferred to the region,” adds Laurence Guiraud.