Languishing beneath Mont Vinaigre, the peak of Cap Roux, the rock of Saint Barthélémy and Saint-Pilon, this seaside resort benefitting from a coastal strip of 24 km offers a wide choice of houses. This market segment, which will probably not pick up until next spring, is as active as that for apartments.

With a population of 80,000 in the high season versus 34,000 year-round residents, Saint-Raphaël, located 39 km from Saint-Tropez, a 45-minute drive from the Nice Côte d'Azur international airport and 4 hrs 30 from Paris by TGV, confirms its vocation as a tourist destination. A vocation symbolized by Cap Estérel, one of the first holiday resorts in Europe, but also by its three thalassotherapy centres. Sometimes working in Le Cerceron, Epsilon, Le Peyron or Les Genêts, the locals, who outnumber holiday residents by a short head, benefit from schools, hospitals, sports and cultural facilities, shops and services required for day-to-day life.

“The various neighbourhoods in Saint-Raphaël ensure lots of variety,” says Marie-Anne Roubaud of WF King Immobilier. Valescure, characterized by its two 18-hole and one 9-hole golf-courses, provides a luxuriant backcloth facing the greens and Estérel mountains, only 5 km from the heart of town. It already has one shopping centre, a second is in the pipeline. If housing in Boulouris and Notre Dame is beginning to date, it is nevertheless near the Deep Blue Sea. Like the Pointe Santa Lucia, a very small enclave where a few properties are enthroned right at the water’s edge. Agay, however, remains the favourite address of fans of sea views and beaches. Between 500,000 €, the sum required for a villa in need of renovation, and 800,000 €, the amount required for a more recent property without a sea view, villas readily find takers. In fiscal year 2009, estate agencies have chalked up a few sales at 1.3 and 1.5 million euros, peak prices justified by Agay’s magnificent views of the azure blue sea. Among recent buyers, Marie-Anne Roubaud mentions a Russian, a Swiss, a Dutchman and three French clients. Traditionally, year-round homes only just outnumber holiday residences. Houses are just as much in demand as apartments, even new ones costing up to 500,000 €. There are, however, fewer examples of real quality in the first category, whence their stable prices, possibly still above real market values. 2- and 3 bedroomed apartments under 400,000 € and villas priced around 600,000 € are evidently doing very nicely. A good score when one considers that the average acquisition at national level does not exceed 200,000 €.

“The advantage offered by Valescure is its recently-built accommodation, because turnkey properties are always a great success : but also, and above all, it proposes housing in tune with the times,” says Catherine Albert of La Villa. A decade back, we used to think there was a potential buyer for each property. Progress in terms of comfort and esthetics, together with standardization of tastes, has radically changed the scene. Now everyone dreams of picture windows, open-space layout, loftiness and light, open-plan kitchens and central islands. The country house of character suffers by comparison, whereas neo-Provençal villas built in the 1980’s are only considered at significantly lower prices. Furthermore, at St. Raphaël the boundary between primary and secondary residences is not all that clear. Many buyers from France or the Benelux countries spend six months a year here in the south. When they retire, they do not need a mortgage. On the other hand, these senior citizens, very knowledgeable about prices, negotiate to the point that a seller, rarely in need or any urgency, may decline to part with his property. Recently, one client agreed to stick to the surveyor’s estimate of 710,000 € for a house in the Parcs de Valescure. The result : it sold after being on the market for just two weeks. If the area does not kindle any demand beyond 2 million euros, it’s because it does not meet the requirements of wealthy buyers in terms of surface areas. With grounds of average size and limited constructability, it has difficulty finding its place between Cannes and Saint-Tropez.

“Villas in need of renovation still have their fans,” comments Patrick Caveriviere of the Agence du Cap. “Some houses built in the ’sixties and ’seventies have undergone impressive restoration, especially as Boulouris and Notre-Dame offer many advantages, starting with their central location.” This type of villa, usually requiring refurbishment costing from 200,000 to 250,000 €, starts at 500,000 €. It is of interest to the locals or owners of semi-primary residences, who easily recover their investment. Finally, the slowdown observed from October 2008 to May 2009 thankfully seems to be coming to an end.