Quality living standards, the secret of Nantes

In designating the “Capitale Verte 2013” as the most pleasant town in Europe, Time magazine certainly set the tone. Here in Nantes, the living is easy whether intra-muros or on one of the 23 other communes within the “Métropole”, an urban entity home to 600,000 people.

The capital of the Duchy of Brittany in the 15th century, re-attached to France partly due to the marriages of Duchess Anne, Nantes lies on the banks of the Sèvre, Loire and Erdre. Today, open green spaces cover one-sixth of its territory. The Ile Feydeau, Place Royale and Cours des 50-Otages are being treated to a facelift, with pedestrianization much in favour. The agro-food and aeronautical industries, new technologies, banking and insurance all provide jobs in this prefecture with 50,000 students. The positive image it conveys to the outside world is borne out by the 2 million visitors it welcomes each year and the frequency of the Paris-Nantes TGV services launched in 1989.

“The notion of pleasant living conditions is indissociable from Nantes’ development,” explains Jean-Luc Jouny, manager of Arnold Immobilier, a network covering areas with very high levels of population growth. “Between now and the year 2030, the agglomeration expects 150,000 new arrivals, 50 % from the Great West, the rest from all over France, with a significant share from the Ile-de-France.” Nantes is the flagship city of an extremely attractive area. The tramway, improvement of main roads and the proximity of La Baule, the Guérande peninsula and the Gulf of Le Morbihan all add to its magnetic appeal. Jean-Luc Jouny is opening a department dedicated to properties under the 500,000 € mark to join his prestige sector, though he intends to make charm and character their common denominator. The most recent sales orchestrated by the agency concern year-round homes almost to the exclusion of anything else. Buyers tend to be senior executives wanting larger or better homes. Our estate-agent mentions the sale of a fully renovated loft of 180 m2 right in the centre, priced at 900,000 €, a private mansion of 350 m2 not far away, opening out to a walled garden, at 1.1 million euros, and another property comparable to the last one, refurbished this time, at 1.8 million euros. Buyers are now in a strong position and take their time. With changes in regulations, the acquisition process is becoming increasingly complex and time-consuming.

“Among the neighbourhoods in Nantes that are synon­ymous with a quality life-style, there is one, residential and highly-prized, which deserves a mention : Saint-Félix,” says Martine Auger of the Immobilière Saint-Félix agency. “Defined by Rue Paul-Bellamy, the Rond-point de Rennes, the outer Boulevards Henry-Orrion and Eugène-Orieux, and the banks of the Erdre, this enclave with excellent transport services (tramway and bus) and neighbourhood shops, is only 10 minutes from Les 50-Otages and the hyper-centre.” It has an eclectic population : lots of retirees, but also more and more young couples (executives, self-employed professionals, teachers, researchers…) with a certain buying power, and often families with three, four or even five children. Students also like this area which is very close to all the universities and “grandes écoles” and offers fast and easy access to the centre. With a view of the Erdre, resid­ences built since 2005 between the Général-de-la-Motte-Rouge and La Tortière bridges attain 6,000 € per sq. metre ; which naturally leads to rising prices for neighbouring old apartments, currently pegged from 3,000 to 3,600 €/m2 depending on their location, but also on the lack of any major defects. As for houses, a commodity as sought-after as it is rare, they easily post prices of 4,000-4,500 € per sq. metre. They soon find takers, usually in just a few weeks or even a few days, as long as they can demonstrate fair value for money in terms of quality. Martine Auger naturally mentions the financial crunch, but nevertheless points out that : “Prices are not falling, or only very modestly. Real estate is always a sound proposition, des­pite periods of ups and downs”.