Valley of the Saône, bank to bank

By Cécile Olivéro - 26 June 2012

This area is one of the nine sub-divisions of the urban community of Greater Lyon. The left bank has nine towns and villages, the right bank has eight.

The area offers two different facets depending on whether you find yourself along the River Saône or higher up. “You go from a densely built-up area to well-preserved nature playing host to lovely properties and houses,” explains Luc Mettetal of the Agence Primmo. On the left bank, Neuville-sur-Saône is regarded as the “capital” of the Saône Valley with 7,382 inhabitants, primary schools, secondary school and a good array of medical and para-medical services. This satellite-town of Lyon, only 15 kilometres away, has left its mark on history. In June 1895, it played host to the Congress of the Union of Photography Societies and Louis Lumière filmed attendees disembarking from a boat. 24 hours later, the first news documentary in the history of the cinema was screened on Place Bellecour before astounded spectators. It was Neuville-sur-Saône’s moment of glory. Today, the town is laid out around its old centre with its village houses with neither garages nor outdoor areas. They are popular among first-time buyers who pay 2,000 to 2,500 €/m2 to become home-owners. For Neuville-sur-Saône has an ageing population ; senior citizens sell their houses in the surrounding areas to live as close as possible to amenities. They are thus able to pay 3,000 €/m2, or even 3,500 €/m2, for apartments in new developments. Prices are rising, the market for apartments in particular is booming, penalizing first-time buyers and those with modest budgets. Still in Neuville, a house of 100 m2 with a garden of 600 m2 will cost from 350,000 to 450,000 €, drawing the interest of working families with good income. Investors put in a good appearance when new residences were being built, near the secondary school. Here, rentals are calculated on the basis of about 10 € per sq. metre.

Fontaines-sur-Saône with 6,303 inhabitants presents the same morphology as Neuville and similar prices. On the right bank (the classsiest), four communes are doing pretty well: Saint-Germain-au-Mont-d’Or, Albigny-sur-Saône, Saint-Romain-au-Mont-d’Or and Collonges-au-Mont-d’Or. Large properties are something of a micro-market. A vintner’s farm built in 1890 is awaiting a buyer at 899,000 € ; in Saint-Romain, a house of 260 m2 with a pool in grounds of 5,000 m2 is up for sale at 1,300,000 €. On the same commune, a property of 280 m2 dating back to 1894, in grounds of 2,600 m2 with a pool is estimated at 832,000 €. Buyers of this type of home are mostly self-employed professionals and company directors. Though these four addresses also propose a good choice of other properties. In Albigny, a new residence with lovely terraces proposes apartments at 3,700 €/m2. At the gateway to Lyon, 8 km away to be precise, Collonges boasts a very buoyant market. “Everything sells on this commune !” announces Sylvie di Tacchio of Orpi Neuville. “Employees transferred to the area are looking for a good address and Le Mont d’Or serves as a reference.” A home can always be resold if the need arises. There are more houses than apartments, with a starting price of around 500,000 € for 4 bedrooms and grounds of 1,000 m2. Prices then rise to 850,000 €, depending on the surface area, location and appointments. Apartments in buildings 25 years old or residences with swimming pools are pegged at around 2,800 €/m2, while new developments cost up to 3,500 €/m2. Estate-agents agree that prices should be more coherent but remain optimistic for the coming months. People are always looking for homes and the Saône Valley has more than one ace up its sleeve. The future joining of the A6 and A46 will open up the area and make it much easier to reach the west side of Lyon. The tram, which will leave Sathonay-Camp to join Trévoux, will service all the villages on the route, giving added value to the region. A flourishing area, for both agriculture and industry, not forgetting the service sector, essential for high standards of living.