Between Ain and Rhône

The Plateau de la Dombes lies north-east of Lyon, up above the plains of the Rhône. Dotted by several little lakes, it accounts for 21 % of France’s production of fish. Two main communication networks, the railway and the road linking the prefecture of “département 69” to Bourg-en-Bresse, cross this paradise for birds, a world as rural as one could wish.

The valley of the Saône to the west, La Côtière to the south and the River Ain to the east serve as natural frontiers for La Dombes. At an altitude of 296 metres, Saint-André-de-Corcy with 3,200 inhabitants is just 20 km from Lyon. In the area around this pleasant and authentic urban centre, fans come to fish for carp, pike and roach. Home to 4,330 people, Villars-les-Dombes is 33 km from the former capital of the Gauls and 29 km from Bourg, the prefecture of L’Ain. Well-endowed with infrastructures, this little town offers a swimming pool, cinema, two school groups up to secondary level, a medico-social centre, two retirement homes, shops and 85 associations, not forgetting an ornithological park of about 56.8 acres.

“Even though the main communes comprising La Dombes, an area almost equidistant from Lyon and Bourg-en-Bresse, are part of L’Ain, they firmly set their sights on the “département” of the Rhône, the French and even international market, as evidenced by the growing percentage of second homes,” say Guy Confavreux and Michel Blondeau of Gestion & Patrimoine de la Dombes. Half of their sales in fact concern holiday homes. Whether Parisian, Swiss or British, buyers appreciate the countryside, its peacefulness, privacy and quality life-style… all assets attributed to the “Land of a Thousand Lakes”. These clients are willing to invest from 250,000 to 500,000 €. A renovated farmhouse of 150-200 m2 in grounds of 4,000 m2 starts from 300,000 €. As soon as one hits the 500,000 € mark, the surface area of the land is expressed in hectares. On the other hand, the market for first-time buyers is on the decline, given the relatively high price levels and the difficulties encountered when trying to obtain mortgages. Most of the purchasers, with budgets of 300,000-350,000 €, are in fact looking for larger homes following a recent sale. They give priority to easy road access to pools of employment, the presence of a TER station and the proximity of Villars or Saint-André-de-Corcy, two localities with a wide array of amenities, which have managed to preserve their souls. Prices in fact vary depending on the distances between the villages concerned and the railway, clearly a determining factor from the point of view of people employed in Lyon.

“The RN 83 places Saint-André-de-Corcy between the two prefectures,” adds Olivier Michel of Corcy Transactions, a member of the Orpi network. “This little town is seen as being both on the first ring around Lyon, but also as a symbolic limit. It only takes 20 minutes by train to reach La Part-Dieu. In the rush hours, trains run every 20 minutes.” At the moment, the town seems to be going through a transition phase between a rural and urban setting. As proof : national developers are designing apartment buildings “in situ”. By way of example, “Le Belandré” consists of 46 BBC apartments with 1 to 4 main rooms, priced from 143,000 €. Even so, most transactions still concern individual housing. Recently, a couple of managerial employees with children paid 265,000 € for a villa of 100 m2 in good condition, opening out to a garden of 800 m2. Two types of accommodation are in steady demand : houses on estates from 250,000 to 280,000 €, and typical farmhouses on offer from 350,000 to 500,000 €. Outside the “Grand Lyon”, La Dombes benefits from lower land taxes. Despite the crisis, prices are stable. However, houses built in the ‘eighties find much less favour than in the past. Over the medium term, the building of an industrial zone of almost 62 acres in Civrieux-en-Dombes could lead to the arrival of a new wave of buyers.