From Prades-le-Lez to Castelnau-le-Lez

A coastal river 28 km long flowing into the sea at the level of Palavas-les-Flots, the Lez follows a valley along which one comes across a few authentic villages. Spotlight on Prades, Castelnau and Clapiers, at the gateway to Montpellier…

Prades lies north of the capital of L’Hérault, at the foot of Le Pic Saint-Loup, in the valley of the Lez. This village with 5,000 inhabitants belongs to Montpellier’s greater urban area, within its famous green belt. The 530 acres of well-preserved nature around the Château de Restinclières are an invitation to enjoy outdoor activities. A further 2,500 residents are expected to settle in this site between now and the year 2020. Population growth partly explained by the scheduled arrival of line 5 of the tramway. 15,000 people live in Castelnau-le-Lez, 4 km as the crow flies from the Mediterranean. Since late 2006, this commune with four junior, one intermediate and two secondary schools has benefited from line 2 of the tramway. Dating back more than 2,000 years, it is now a modern, residential town. Clapiers, home to 5,200 people, is another small town, mostly rural back in 1960. Its layout changes to keep pace with Montpellier’s growing population. Its centre is laid out around the church and town-hall. Surrounded by vineyards, Clapiers offers a running circuit in the forest, several sports stadiums, a mediatheque and schools up to intermediate level.

“At the far north of the greater urban area, Prades-le-Lez has long remained at a distance from neighbouring addresses, Saint-Clément-de-Rivière, Montferrier-sur-Lez and Clapiers. Over the years, its historic disparity has become less noticeable,” says Philippe Panel of Abaccus Immobilier. The urban development programme is extremely well-designed. Recently, one business zone won an award for its incorporation of council housing. This “town in the country” offers an extremely varied array of accommodation, close to hospitals, university faculties and Agropolis. Standard villas of 85-90 m2 with gardens start at 250,000 €, while a house of 300 m2 in excellent condition with grounds of 3,000 m2 can attain 1 million euros. Demand is a little sluggish, though correctly estimated properties find takers in all the various segments. The vast majority of transactions lie, however, in the 300,000-320,000 € bracket, corresponding to a villa with five main rooms and a garden of 400 m2. Developers should be launching new blocks of apartments in the very near future. New apartments range from 3,000 to 3,500 €/m2, old ones are scarce in today’s stocks. 90 % of the sales concern year-round homes ; one out of ten is a rental investment.

“Castelnau was once the favourite address for weekend or holiday homes among “Montpelliérains”,” explains Frédéric Padilla of Horizons Immobilier. “Nowadays, people employed in the prefecture live here year-round, drawn by its natural setting, country hills, elevated views and classy addresses.” The two towns are only separated by the River Lez, and access to the motorway, TGV station, beaches and shopping centres is easy. Prices are relatively high. In good locations, houses of 110-120 m2 with a garden of 400-500 m2, priced from 400,000 to 450,000 €, have their fans. When living space attains 160 m2 with a garden of 800 m2, prices rise to around 800,000 €. Values also increase as soon as a property benefits from an elevated position while still being within walking distance of shops. In today’s climate, demand is clearly more hesitant over and above 500,000 €. Yet some clients, 50 % from outside the region, are still looking for properties with quality appointments in and around Castelnau-.

“Clapiers is an authentic, well-preserved village just a 5-minute drive from the closest pools of employment,” says Catherine Dubreuil of Majord’Home Immobilier & Patrimoine, an agency belonging to the Sarro group. The last five sales she has handled range from 242,000 € - the sum required for a semi-detached 1960’s house of 90 m2 in need of a revamp, with a garden of 250 m2 - to 830,000 €, corresponding to a home of 200 m2 in perfect condition in grounds of 2,000 m2. Slightly over-estimated, the upper end of the market draws less interest, and the few buyers for this type of property are very demanding. While the market is active, it depends a lot on changes in people’s lives. In short, in these troubled times, they move because of a real need rather then for their personal enjoyment.