Holiday homes on the coast in “département 34”

Passing the one million inhabitants mark in March, 2006, the coastline of L’Hérault is very popular among tourists. The beaches of Sète, La Grande-Motte, Palavas-les-Flots, Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone, Marseillan, Valras, Portiragnes, Cap d’Agde and the Bassin de Thau attract a constantly growing number of holiday-makers.While second residences account for almost 21 % of the market in Sète, the figure is close on 44 and 77 % respectively over in Vic-la-Gardiole and La Grande-Motte.

Sète, the “île singulière”, so-called by Paul Valéry, stretches from the Mediterranean to the Etang de Thau. Its canals and quaysides make for some lovely walks. Long frequented by artistes such as Georges Brassens, Manitas de Plata, Jean Vilar and the Di Rosa brothers, the commune is France’s N°1 fishing port. 17 km from Montpellier, Vic-la-Gardiole forms part of the greater urban community of the Bassin de Thau. Benefitting from the proximity of the sea and the Massif de La Gardiole, its quota of residents jumps from 3,000 to 10,000 depending on the season. Recently, a pedestrian street came into being and accessibility became easier. The seaside resort and yacht harbour of La Grande-Motte were built in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Architect Jean Balladur designed the famous buildings shaped like pyramids. Two lakes mark the confines of the town which also offers about 7.5 acres of beaches, 7 km of hiking trails and 210 acres of golf-courses at the edges of the localities of Mauguio, Aigues-Mortes and Le Grau-du-Roi. The sailing centre and casino are sources of entertainment for the 2 million tourists hosted each year by this locality, illustrating its motto “Un nouvel art de ville” on an everyday basis.

It’s perfectly natural that Didier Noguet displays “En avant partout”, the leitmotiv of Sète’s jousting fêtes, on the frontage of the Marianne Immobilier agency. One of the region’s native sons, he is full of praise for the land of Brassens, set between lake and sea. Proud holder of the clean-beach “Pavillon Bleu”, the town welcomes tourists from April to October. The population, estimated at 43,000, doubles in August. On the hills, the sq. metre for older properties ranges from 2,000 to 3,000 €, while new accommodation is pegged from 3,000 to 4,000 €. Clients looking for holiday homes, 90 % French, usually spend from 150,000 to 250,000 €, are looking for an apartment in 80 % of cases, and dream of a terrace and sea view. In 1950, Le Mont Saint-Clair was still countryside, inhabited by locals : today, half of the home-owners in this prestigious neighbourhood are from outside the region. A few Belgians, Swiss or Germans, prepared to pay from 500,000 to 1.5 million euros, treat themselves to liv-ing space of 300 m2 in grounds of approx. 2,000 m2. Despite the crisis, prices and the volume of transactions for holiday homes have remained relatively steady. The short distance separating the address from the motorway and the airport of the capital of L’Hérault, the 20 km of beaches between Sète and Marseillan, the quality of the fish and seafood, including the essential oysters from Bouzigues, are all positive factors. “Only 3 km from Vic, one reaches the sea and a wide stretch of fine sand accessible by bike. The “green lung” of Montpellier shares the same biotope as the Camargue, drawing many fans of flat plains from the Rhône-Alpes corridor, Alsace and the Paris region, Toulouse, Nantes and Anger,” says Béatrice Proeres of Aresquiers Immo. The agency didn’t feel the impact of the crisis until the fourth quarter of 2009. Up until then, seekers of holidays homes could be split into the 100,000-150,000 € and 200,000-280,000 € brack-ets. From then on, the downward trend became more evident, with an average investment between 60,000 and 100,000 €, enabling the buyer to obtain 25-30 m2, with a small garden if they manage to muster 120,000 €. Some are looking for houses facing the open sea and/or the lake of Thau. Of French nationality, these clients, capable of spending 400,000 to 600,000 €, insist on contemporary architecture, high-quality appointments and value for money. Whether in the case of small apartments or attractive villas, there’s a definite shortage. And sellers, not necessarily ready to drop their prices, do not hesitate to remove their properties from the files in order to rent them out. Gradually, primary residences are supplanting holiday homes. Especially as the market in Montpellier is reaching saturation point, the first tramline stop is only 7 km from Vic, and the railway station is planning to increase the number of its services with the Prefecture.

This propensity to move in year-round has also been noticed by Christine Félio from the agency Le Tuc Immo in La Grande-Motte. The specific feature of this address is the diversity of its accommodation, currently undergoing renovation. Potential buyers can in fact choose from studios rented on a seasonal basis, without any particular view, priced from 2,500-3,000 €/m2 ; 1-bedroom apartments from 120,000 to 150,000 ; 2-bedroom apartments from 200,000 € ; and 3-bedroom apartments from 400,000 to 500,000 €. The tiniest glimpse of the sea warrants a starting price of 4,000 €/m2. Large surface areas are cruelly lacking, as are parking facilities. A parking space costs, for example, 10,000-20,000 €, a garage around 30,000 €. The most highly-prized neighbourhoods, the centre, harbour and Le Point Zero, are also the liveliest. Fans of villas head for Haute-Plage and the golf-course, where they pay 450,000 € for a “pavillon” of 80 m2 with a garden of 200 m2, or over 1 million euros for 150 m2 in a garden of 450 m2 with a pool. “This area, very prestigious when it was created, greatly democratized since then, now has considerable potential,” says Christine Félio.