L’Etang de Berre and its surrounding region

Located in Les Bouches du Rhône, the communes around L’Etang de Berre form one of the region’s main industrial zones. Accommodation here is varied and offers very appealing value for money for this département.

A real little lake surrounded by land belonging to Provence, L’Etang de Berre came into being when the waters rose at the end of the last Ice Age. Completed by L’Etang de Vaïne to the east and L’Etang de Bolmon to the south-east, the main lake is 20 km long and 16.5 km wide. It is edged by Istres, Miramas, Saint-Chamas, Berre-L’Etang, Rognac, Vitrolles, Marignane, Châteauneuf-les-Martigues, Martigues and Saint-Mitre-les-Remparts. Communes well-equipped with road and airport infrastructures, playing host to numerous large industrial enterprises which provide a major pool of jobs for the département. Most of these communes are undergoing real expansion, backed by municipal policies boosting suburban densification. Large-scale projects such as the Village des Marques in Miramas - an open-air factory sales outlet of over 20,000 m2 - are contributing towards the expansion of this area prized by members of the local working population.

“All of the communes are benefiting from this go-ahead activity. 2015 looks to be a better year than the previous ones,” says Gilbert Galban, manager of the Azur Immobilier agencies in Istres and Miramas, and President of the local AMEPI network. In Istres, population figures have quadrupled over the past 20 years. The air base is still the main job provider, and new buildings are popping up here and there. “Istres is very popular among many employees transferred from Le Havre and Lyon. Executives in aeronautics or the petrochemicals industry, they are looking for pleasant family homes,” explains Gilbert Galban. Istres is often the preferred address for these buyers in a hurry to settle in. “If a property meets two of their three main criteria, they are ready to make concessions.” With budgets of around 230,000 €, they can set their sights on a suburban home (”pavillon”) of 85 m2 with a small garden and a garage. More substantial villas with grounds offering a pool cost around 270,000 €. And apartments ? Whether in Istres, Martigues, Miramas or Salon, new developments draw first-time buyers who can benefit from the PTZ (Zero Interest Loan), but also people working locally and a few investors aiming for rental income for when they retire. Apartments in these residences are offered at 3,000 to 3,300 € per sq. metre.

Further out, the area comprised of Les Pennes Mirabeau, Bouc-Bel-Air, Cabriès and Calas is chosen by many employees of Eurocopter, Sagem or the Cadarache research centre in Saint-Paul-lès-Durance. “Our clients are particularly drawn by Les Pennes Mirabeau, offering a leafy setting, a full range of amenities and a reasonable land tax. In spite of some neighbourhoods being affected by occasional nuisances due to high-voltage lines, flight paths and the motorway close by, properties of quality still find takers,” explains Fabien Soria, manager of the Home Shop agency. In the neighbourhood of La Citée Haute en Provence, villas of approx. 220 m2 with gardens of 500 m2 change hands at prices between 370,000 and 450,000 €. Those in the Barnouins area, spacious and offering a pool, easily sell for around 700,000 €, especially if they propose Californian-style architecture, like one impeccable property recently sold by Home Shop to a senior executive, who paid close on 750,000 € for this contemporary residence.