Nantes Monselet

It takes its name from Charles Monselet, journalist, novelist, poet and playwright, born in the capital of Loire-Atlantique. This typically Nantais neighbourhood boasts private mansions, substantial properties and family residences. Spotlight on a micro-market…

Defined by Places Anatole-France, Viarme and Les Folies Chaillou, Monselet is just 10 minutes from Place Graslin and in immediate proximity to the city centre. Families appreciate the highly-rated schools and Parc Procé, a real breath of fresh air occupying 39.5 acres, within easy reach. Avenue Camus features a well-known alley lined by Japanese cherry-trees and buildings overlooking the Parc de la Chézine.

“Monselet is by far the most elegant neighbourhood in the prefecture of “département 44,” says Brigitte Turpeau of Franklin Immobilier. “Its properties are certainly not lacking in character, and shops and amenities are not far from this ultra-residential area.” The clientele mainly consists of families from within the region, drawn by the neighbourhood’s peacefulness and its re­nowned schools. A priv­ate mansion of at least 250 m2, opening out to a small garden of 200-300 m2, will fetch around 1 million euros. Apartments in old buildings range from 3,500 to 5,500 €/m2, the price required for an example in perfect condition on an upper floor, with impeccable communal premises, an elev­ator and even a terrace. 1970’s residences on Boulevard Guist’hau range from 3,500 to 4,000 €/m2. Finally, the neighbourhood proposes a wide choice of stone houses mellowed by the passing years, from 100 to 120 m2, with outdoor areas, priced from 600,000 to 650,000 €.

“A typical buyer in Monselet appreciates its classic architecture, and is looking for lofty volumes and individual properties,” says Benoît Isaia of the Cabinet Caharel Immobilier Sotheby’s International Realty. The only fly in the ointment is that the area suffers from a real scarcity of offerings. Canclaux and, further out, Mellinet, in the centre-west, offer fall-back solutions, together with Saint-Pasquier and Saint-Félix, to the north. Prices naturally fall the further one gets from the town centre and with properties lower down the scale. From 2000 to 2007, the property market enjoyed a boom. The international crisis led to adjustments in the market in 2009 and 2010. The following year, plans that had sometimes been put on hold over the past two years began to emerge, proving that real-estate is seen as a safe long-term investment. Owning an asset of this kind carries more weight than its immediate profitability, and the choice then often falls on large surface areas. France’s electoral period was inevitably quiet. Except that, instead of picking up in September, activity only really got going again in mid-November. The buyers’ file is seeing the arrival of new-comers. They all have the same idea : to take advantage of their strong position. In fact, both parties, both buyers and sellers, are making comparable efforts. Though it still remains that prices that are actually paid reflect the lower end of the estimates. In this area, Monselet tops the bill. Given the rarity of available properties, prices remain steady. Among his latest sales, Benoît Isaia mentions a private mansion of 400 m2 in good condition, with lovely receptions rooms and six bedrooms, prolonged by a garden of 350 m2, acquired by a couple with children, transferred to the region, for 1,680,000 €. The address’s renown extends well beyond the borders of Nantes.