Colette Casanovas, Agence du Port (04 68 21 13 38). Didier Montel, Immojaime (04 68 80 24 67). Nicole Huc, Immobilière Nicole Huc (04 68 80 51 51). Patrick Séguier, Patios de la Massane. (04 68 81 13 94).
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The Pyrénées-Orientales coastline
There are currently no signs of prices coming down.
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Three-bedroom apartment on the top floor of a complex with pool, on Saint-Cyprien beach, enjoying two terraces facing the Med.
235.000 €. Agence du Port (04 68 21 13 38).
Villa near Saint-Cyprien golf course with 200 m2 of living space on a 1,000-m2 wooded plot. 830.000 €. Immobilière Nicole Huc (04 68 80 51 51).
This semi-detached villa is in a residential area near Saint-Cyprien marina and port.
566.000 €. Agence du Port (04 68 21 13 38).
150-m2 property in Argelès village (plus a 1-bed apt.) on 2,522 m2 of land.
665.000 €. Patios de la Massane (04 68 81 13 94).
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M & A : What are the main areas on the coast ?
Patrick Séguier : The coast stretches from Barcarès in the North to Cerbère in the South, covering some 50 km, and forming two distinct areas. The sector encompassing Port-Barcarès, Canet-en-Roussillon, Saint-Cyprien and Argelès-sur-Mer is flat and sandy, boasting two lakes, magnificent beaches, small villas and holiday apartments. Buyers particularly like the traditional houses. The Southern part, i.e. Collioure, Port-Vendres, Banyuls-sur-Mer and Cerbère, is rockier. The coastline stretches further inland to include Les Albères. The housing market is more expensive in the South than the North. A one-bedroom apartment overlooking the saltwater lake in Barcarès fetches 70,000 €. The same thing overlooking Collioure port is worth 210,000 €.
Nicole Huc : Canet-Plage is a seaside resort and a very complementary area to the Perpignan market. It is also the second largest town in the department.
Colette Casanovas : Argelès, Saint-Cyprien and Canet-en-Roussillon are the most developed resorts on the coast. After initially focusing on the holiday home segment, they are now attracting more and more buyers of main homes. A square metre ranges between 2,000 and 4,000 €, depending on location and age. A 30-m2 one-bedroom apartment in a private complex with sea view will sell for about 80,000 € net for the seller. A 32-m2 one-bed in a new golf course development costs 146,368 € off plan. In standard estates, villas on 400-m2 plots fetch 3,500 € a square metre.
How much have prices risen, and to what extent ? What do you expect for the future ?
Didier Montel : The explosion in prices over the last five years now seems to be contained. Prices are stagnating but are not lowering.
P. Séguier : A two-bedroom apartment in a complex with pool, near Argelès beach, cost about 75,000 € in 2001. The same apartment, which was sold on for 100,000 € in 2004, would fetch about 160,000 € today.
Would you say this is currently a buoyant market ?
C. Casanovas : Demand remains high on the coast, but budgets are tighter than the whole range of supply. Owners’ valuations are rarely rational and they often need to see just how difficult the sale is before they will adjust their price.
N. Huc : Canet-Plage seafront can no longer offer a sufficient choice of apartments to meet demand. New developments are slow to come. Villas between 250,000 and 300,000 € are hard to come by because of overvaluation. Correctly priced properties are snatched up in a matter of weeks.
D. Montel : The average sale takes between six and nine months. The market was very active until December 2005, but has now slowed down, despite a slight recovery since early June. Turnover is five years on the coast, versus ten in the hinterland.
Is there a typical buyer profile ?
P. Séguier : In recent years we have been seeing the effects of the grandpa boom on the coast, with a whole population retiring to the sunny Mediterranean shores. From 2002 to 2005, the region proved very popular with the English, especially Collioure and the Albères massif, which contributed to the dramatic rise in prices. There is no typical buyer profile, but we are seeing an increase in average age as well as a significant rise in budgets. As for foreign buyers, the area has been welcoming English, Dutch, Irish, Belgians, Swiss and Spanish (in descending order) since the tunnel through the Pyrenees and the Perpignan-Barcelona TGV line were built. They want to enjoy the sun and set great store by their living environment.
C. Casanovas : Buyers are mainly French and Northern Europeans, looking for main or semi-main homes, or even a buy-to-rent investment (especially Anglo-Saxons). They also want more space so there is little demand for studios.
Is it still possible to speculate and to what extent ?
C. Casanovas : Is it still possible to speculate on property with a sea view, a very good aspect or with extensive building land.
What main new developments are under construction ?
P. Séguier : Town councils are faced with the problem of land being unsuitable for building as it is liable to flooding. However, some developments are on their way, and there are plans to convert camp sites into holiday complexes. Given the current shortage of long-term lettings, legal requirements in terms of social housing should calm the market down.
N. Huc : The only development in Canet beach is currently “Villa Palacio”, by the Fonta group : 57 units for holidays or rental. Old property is more expensive than new, but that is likely to change with the large developments due in 2008-2009.
A word about your most recent transactions ?
N. Huc : A luxury three-bedroom apartment on Canet seafront for 420,000 €, i.e. 4,000 €/m2. A simple villa with pool for 385,000 €.
P. Séguier : A house from the 1950s, 50 m from Argelès-sur-Mer beach, for 270,000 €. A one-bedroom apartment in a complex with pool in the same area, for 128,000 €.
C. Casanovas : A 160-m2 semi for
renovation on 250 m2 of land for 230,000 €. A 108-m2 single-storey house on 800 m2 of land for 395,000 € (reduced costs) both in Saint-Cyprien.
Interview by Laetitia Rossi
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