Les Chartrons in Bordeaux, a fashionable neighbourhood

Once paid scant attention, the neighbourhood of Les Chartrons underwent rehabilitation in the years 2000 and has now become the trendiest address in Bordeaux. An area with high but stable prices, brimming with original properties.

Conveniently located north of the centre of the Bordeaux, on the banks of the Garonne, Les Chartrons was once the fief of wine merchants before they gradually moved out towards the outskirts of the city as from the 1950’s, which significantly reduced the area’s appeal. Then the quaysides, amongst other things, were given a facelift, the tramway made its appearance, and Les Chartrons embarked on a new lease of life : lots of antique-dealers, artists, craftsmen, shop-keepers and restaurant-owners began to move in, creating a lively village atmosphere (especially on Rue Notre-Dame and around the Place du Marché). As for the vast abandoned warehouses once used to age and store wine (some dating back to the 18th century), many were renovated and transformed into contemporary lofts, which then rubbed shoulders with stone buildings whose frontages are steeped in history. Young, atypical, lively by day and night, the neighbourhood is now more fashionable than ever.

As regards prices : “This is the part of town showing the widest disparities,” says Aymeric Sabatié-Garat, associate director of Barnes Bordeaux, the international specialist for prestige real-estate. “In the southern part of Les Chartrons, prices attain their highest levels thanks to the neighbourhood’s proximity to the centre : 3,500 to 7,000 € per sq. metre. Particularly highly-prized, apartments offering views of the Garonne then range from 5,000 to 7,000 € per sqm : prices comparable to those in the hyper-centre and “Golden Triangle”. However, many houses are still waiting to be renovated in streets near the Bacalan neighbourhood, pegged between 2,500 and 3,000 € per sqm.” Buyer profiles are very diverse : “Young first-time buyers with substantial income are drawn by the neighbourhood’s liveliness. One such couple, for instance, just acquired an apartment of 90 m2 for 320,000 €. Then there are self-employed professionals with budgets from 600,000 to 1 million euros, clients with children now grown-up and independent, ready to pay 800,000 to 1.5 million euros (an apartment of 200 m2 on the quaysides was recently acquired by such a couple for 1.2 million euros), and foreigners in search of a neighbourhood less over-run by tourists”.

For Espaces Atypiques, a network of agencies specializing in contemporary properties (lofts, workshops, duplexes, penthouses, contemporary renovations, houses designed by architects…), opening a branch in Les Chartrons was self-evident. “This very special heritage allows us to prop­ose in particular a good number of former commercial and industrial premises, or wine cellars, transformed into lofts of character,” enthuses Clément Kaufmann, director of the agency launched in June, covering all of the Gironde as far as the Bassin d’Arcachon. “For example, we are currently marketing a former hangar rehabilitated as a split-level loft of 135 m2 with a price-tag of 378,000 €.” More generally, bare surfaces awaiting development sell for around 3,000 €/m2, as illustrated by an example of 130 m2 with a patio of 20 m2, which recently found a taker at 460,000 €. “Properties offering refined appointments change hands at around 5,000 € per sqm, more for exceptional examples.” This originality in real-estate offerings attracts a clientele often equally original (especially artists) with considerable resources. “Half of them already live in Bordeaux or nearby areas. As for the rest, many ex-pats returning to the city now opt for Les Chartrons, together with Parisians : our offices based in the capital since 2008 enable us to introduce them to this remarkable neighbourhood.”

Guillaume Rachel, manager of three Laforêt Immobilier agencies in Bordeaux (one in Les Chartrons opened in 2006), observes prices around 4,000 € per sqm. at the heart of the neighbourhood. Houses here are rare : “They are to be found more towards Place Paul Doumer and Jardin Public”. Though a few unusual properties can be unearthed, such as a bourgeois residence of over 330 m2 (11 main rooms, 6 bedrooms) with a garden of almost 350 m2, not overlooked, up for sale at 825,000 €. “On the other hand, there are lots of small apartments available. They are sought by people from outside Bordeaux wanting a pied-à-terre in a lively neighbourhood. By way of example, our portfolio contains a 1-bedroom apartment of about 50 m2 in a stone building giving onto the Rue des Antiquaires, priced at 184,000 €, which shouldn’t take long to find a buyer.” Another illustration : in a recent high-end residence (built in 2002) with a lift, an apartment of 80 m2 (double lounge, 2 bedrooms) sold for 225,000 €. “Prices are holding very steady here,” comments Guillaume Rachel. “An upward trend could well be detected in the case of houses and in certain sought-after areas.” His clients, who are not usually planning their first acquisition, mainly come from other regions - especilly the Ile-de-France. “Mostly aged from 35 to 45, they can usually make hefty down payments.”