A terrace in Marseille

With a coastline 57 km long, the city opens its arms to the Mediterranean. All ups and downs, its many different neighbourhoods play host to lots of homes offering elevated views of the town or sea.

No question about it, Marseille is a great place to live. Benefiting from exceptional sunshine (over 2,800 hours per year) and one of France’s lowest numbers of rainy days per year, the Phocean City provides the ideal backcloth for living in the open air. Apartments blessed with terraces or gardens are therefore highly sought-after. This additional “living room” can make the price of a home rise significantly.

”A property with an outdoor area, whatever its size, is a dream for a good many buyers,” says Frédéric Guilmard of Les Toits de Marseille, an agency specializing in properties offering lovely views and terraces in the 6th, 7th and 8th arrondissements of Marseille. His clients include young first-time buyers working in the area, and many pre-retirees looking for apartments with potential to become their permanent homes in the years to come. They all appreciate the convenience of these neighbourhoods close to the centre, and especially Le Vieux-Port, a melting-pot of cultural sites, shops and good restaurants. “As soon as it has a large well-oriented terrace or a garden, an apartment rarely follows the usual pattern of prices in its neighbourhood.” By way of example, Frédéric Guilmard mentions an impeccable 2-bedroomed apartment at garden level in the Roucas Blanc neighbourhood, which just sold for 330,000 €. “An identical property in the same area but without a garden would cost somewhere between 260,000 and 280,000 €.”

“In fact, a good-sized outdoor area is an undeniable bonus, guaranteeing a quick sale,” adds Guillaume Tariot of the family-run Agence Tariot at the heart of the 7th arrondissement, a neighbourhood undergoing a real metamorphosis, especially since the recent rehabilitation of the Place du 4 Septembre and the boost provided by the appearance of new food stores and quality restaurants, attracting a younger clientele. He mentions, for instance, a 2 bedroomed split-level apartment of 84 m2 with a corner terrace of 60 m2 in a high-end residence in the Corderie area. In need of a lick of paint, it is up for sale at around 400,000 €. By comparison, another apartment of 86 m2 on the 4th floor of a residence in the same neighbourhood is priced at 270,000 €, even though it benefits from two box-garages in the basement. “It is becoming increasingly difficult to give price brackets per sq. metre, even in one and the same neighbourhood. An advantage such as a terrace which is not overlooked, parking facilities or high-quality appointments, can have a considerable effect on our estimates. In the 7th arrondissement, some properties sell for 2,200 € per sqm, others

for 3,800 € per sqm.”