La Calade, the right properties at the right time

35 km from Lyon, Villefranche-sur-Saône is renowned worldwide as the capital of Le Beaujolais. This town with over 35,000 residents and its neighbouring communes attract many first-time buyers thanks to their quality living conditions, accessibility and competitive prices.

Villefranche-sur-Saône is bordered by Beauregard and Jassans-Riottier in L’Ain, communes forming La Calade in Le Rhône : Gleizé, Limas, Arnas and Anse. Their inhabitants are known as “Caladois”. “Calada”, which actually means “a sloping street paved with pebbles” in the Occitan dialect, is the name given here to paved streets. The town centre revolves around the Rue Nationale where shops, the town-hall, tourist office and the theatre are to be found. To the north, leisure centres, shopping centres and an industrial zone comprise the main infrastructures. To the south, housing and companies share the various neighbourhoods. To the west, the parks of Vermorel and Haute-Claire run along housing zones. To the east, a second shopping centre, the harbour on the Saône and the exhibition centre lie next to the neighbourhoods of Troussier and Pontbichet. With its two accesses to motorways and a multimodal centre housing the train and bus stations, the town and its first ring offer lots of assets. Its property market is particularly well-suited to match the budgets of its working population.

“Golden stone” houses in villages to the west, Bressane farmhouses, old residences to renovate or already modernized… Carole Ducet and Anne-Marie Sermolini who run the Ain’Dice Immobilier agency, opened in 2009 in Villefranche-sur-Saône, unearth properties of character and originality priced from 450,000 to 1 million euros. These gems of the region draw the attention of a clientele with esthetic demands. “However, the most typical property on the Caladois market is indisputably the 2- or 3-bedroomed house priced from 220,000 to 250,000 €,” explain our estate-agents, specializing in this département for over 20 years. “Thanks to schools, parks, cinemas, sports facilities, markets and shops, these homes are ideal for families who can enjoy a pleasant and practical life-style with a countrified atmosphere, less than 30 minutes from Lyon on the motorway.”

“A property’s location is, in fact, one of the buyers’ main search criteria,” says Franck Barioz, manager of the Cabinet Barioz based in Saint-Georges-de-Reneins since 2005. “Today’s market offers lots of opportunities. With a budget starting at 150,000 €, one can aim for a 2-bedroom apartment in a small residence built in the 1960’s or 1970’s. With 200,000-220,000 €, purchasers can target a pleasant “pavillon” with 2 or 3 bedrooms and a garden of 300 to 600 m2.” The style typical of the area is a small semi-detached house all on one floor, built in the 1980’s.

As for modern properties, they are in ever higher demand from a clientele particularly careful about energy performance ratings. “Recently-built residences compete very strongly with older apartments, especially as prices are clearly trending lower, even in this price sector,” says Olivier Melay, manager of the Régie Melay Sauverzac which inaugurated its transaction department last year. “In the town centre, a 2-bedroom apartment of 60 m2 in a residence less than five years old and offering a swimming pool, is now on offer at 165,000 €. The same property was worth 200,000 € three years ago.” This decline in prices applies to virtually all the properties, apartments and classic detached “pavillons” in Villefranche-sur-Saône and its surrounding areas : Gleizé, Limas and Arnas. Despite general nervousness due to the overall economic climate, it seems that hesitation is not the attitude to adopt at the start of this new year. A judicious fall-back market in the region close to Lyon, Villefranche-sur-Saône and its agglomer­ation offer properties of quality at very competitive prices.