Charming homes in the hyper-centre of Toulouse

What better compromise than a house with a garden right in the town centre, a short walk from the Capitole, cinemas on Place Wilson and restaurants in Saint-Georges ? Unfortunately, for this very highly-prized type of property, there is a real scarcity resulting in steady, if not rising, prices.

The hyper-centre consists of several micro-markets, all with deeply-rooted characteristics. Les Chalets is in immediate proximity to the historic centre, between the Boulevards Strasbourg and Arcole, the Canal du Midi, Avenue Honoré-Serres and the Mata­biau train station. The neighbourhood in fact began to develop with the construction of this station at the end of the 19th century. Saint-Sernin is laid out around the Basilica of the same name, listed in UNESCO’s World Heritage, just behind the Institute of Political Studies and the University of Social Sciences. In 1841, the canal overflowed its banks, damaging the Domaine du Busca which then belonged to the Marquis of Castellane. Later on, this site between the Garonne and today’s Jardin des Plantes was split up and the château razed to the ground. South-east of Place Esquirol, some lovely residences were built around the Saint-Etienne Cathedral for aristocrats and members of the judiciary. Finally, Les Carmes came into being on either side of an old market-hall and a convent later transformed into a market and open-air car-park. The area on the right bank took its current form back in the 15th century. Its private mansions give onto intimate courtyards, and the streets are characterized by brick and cobblestone.

“Les Chalets, Saint-Sernin, Le Busca, Saint-Etienne and Les Carmes are all very different, but share a central location and homes of real charm,” says Hervé Leboucher of Century 21 Les Carmes. Interested buyers have to make themselves known, as the rare sellers are so discreet that they sometimes avoid publicizing their intention to part with their properties. By way of example, one owner is asking 950,000 € for former stables of 110 m2, renovated throughout and opening out to a garden a few minutes from the Place du Capitole ; another expects to obtain 1.3 million euros for a loft of 420 m2 in a former industrial building in the same neighbourhood, with a patio and terrace. Potential clients in high socio-professional categories from within, or transferred to, the region, are often surprised to discover these gems in an urban area, round the corner of a street, at the end of a cul-de-sac or quite simply nestling behind a classic façade. Nevertheless, these charming homes in the hyper-centre fall into a niche market accounting on average for less than one out of every ten sales.

The Groupe Mercure specializes in this highly specific type of property, qualified as “unusual” or “prestige”. But Toulousains are loath to part with such desirable homes. “Les Chalets still has houses of character which have not been split up, whereas those in Saint-Etienne and Les Carmes offer old residences converted into apartments,” explains Anne de la Sauzay of the Groupe Mercure. While 2012 was a particularly active year for this agency in the centre, showing a 25 % rise in the volume of sales with an average price of 3,900 € per sq. metre, all segments combined, the first half of 2013 has seen a decline of 20 % in turnover accompanied by a rise of about 5 % in prices. This means an average rate of 4,100 €/m2. A “Toulousaine” of 250 m2 in Les Chalets with a pool and garage will find a taker for 1.2 million euros in just three weeks. At these price-levels, clients are highly demanding. They are looking for properties ready to move in, with a garage and generous outdoor area. For lack of availabilities, some fall back on apartments created when these charming old residences were split up. A duplex of 136 m2 in Les Chalets, benefiting from a private garden, sold, for example, for 480,000 €, while a top-floor apartment of 147 m2 in Le Capitole, extended by a terrace of 40 m2 and boasting a double garage, was snapped up within a month at 670,000 €, and an apartment of 126 m2 in a 19th-century building near La Halle aux Grains sold for 530,000 €, also within a month of being put up for sale.