Two different facets of Aix-en-Provence

300 days of sunshine on average per year, 140 listed monuments, a varied and ambitious economy, a highly reputable university, a cultural life of genuine quality, and intelligent modernization… Aix-en-Provence is a blue-chip address synonymous with the fine art of living in Provence.

A popular tourist destination, Aix-en-Provence attracts many Frenchmen from Paris, Lille and Lyon who hope to move here permanently once they retire. Young people working locally are keen to buy apartments in the centre, while inv­estors target small surface areas, intending to rent them out to some of the 40,000 students within the area. This town which is indeed an appealing and sought-after address naturally has a property market characterized by high prices. It can be split into different zones, including the historic centre, full of charm, where lively narrow streets spill out onto smart middle-class avenues exemplified by the famous Cours Mirabeau. To the south-east, the pleasant Val Saint-André neighbourhood is popular among families and students. The classy north-east boasts a wealth of desirable residences, including a few sublime old “bastides” in Le Tholonet.

“After a setback in 2013, we have seen a real upturn in act­ivity since December,” says Caroline Laurent, who opened the agency bearing her name more than 20 years ago in Aix-en-Provence. “The hyper-centre is in high demand, especially historic neighbourhoods with their handsome bourgeois buildings and former private mansions brimming with character.” Here, buyers are also drawn by a life-style where everything can be done on foot. Prices in these neighbourhoods remain stable as long as demand is steady : one can currently expect to pay from 4,500 to 5,500 € per sq. metre. Occasionally, a few opportunities arise, such as a 1-bedroom apartment in need of renovation, in a good location, recently sold by the Caroline Laurent et Associés agency to a young man working in town for 160,000 €. “We have a quality clientele. Even first-time buyers can often put down a deposit equalling at least half of the price of the property they want to acquire. As for retirees and a few foreigners looking for a pied-à-terre, they can usually afford to pay cash.” Beyond the centre, one can however observe a slight decline in prices. In Saint-Jérôme and Le Pigeonnet, apartments are on offer at around 3,500 € per sqm., while those on the periphery, in residences built in the 1960’s and 1970’s, cost from 2,800 to 3,000 € per sqm. What about villas ? In the first ring around town, they too are trending lower. “On the outskirts of Aix, villas benefiting from grounds of 3,000 to 4,000 m2, a few kilometres from the centre, are currently proposed from 650,000 €. Some of them have lost up to 20 % of their value over the past year,” explains Pascal Boyer, director of the long-established agency Immobilière Pelletier Savon, dating back to 1967. “On the other hand, houses in the centre, built in the 1930’s, 1940’s and 1950’s, are very highly sought after. Their prices often exceed 1 million euros,” adds our expert, used to handling high-end and occasionally “outsize” transactions, such as the sale of entire buildings in the centre.

His observation is shared by Guillaume Rey, director of the Actuel Immobilier agency, based for the past 20 years on Cours Mirabeau. His recent sales include a small 19th-C. mansion of 190 m2 benefiting from a large terrace and a courtyard with a garden. Situated in the Carnot neighbourhood and fully renovated to offer top-notch appointments, it has just been sold at 1,250,000 €. “This type of property, very highly-prized, will find a taker, if it is correctly estim­ated, within two or three months at most.” Aix’s real-estate market is, in fact, clearly governed by specific locations. On the one hand, the historic centre, still an address targeted for personal pleasure by highly discerning buyers. On the other, the two areas on the periphery where declining prices imply real opportunities to be snapped up immediately.