Saint-Nazaire and towns on the estuary

Lying between the River Loire and the ocean, the town of Saint-Nazaire enjoyed a real boom in the second half of the 19th century. The port was built and transatlantic links followed in quick succession. As the years passed by, its image gradually changed. The turn of the 20th century marked a radical new departure. The old working-class town is being revamped : everything is focused on urban renewal.

Since the creation of the port area, a great deal of water has flowed under the bridge of “La Petite Californie bretonne”. The seaside town is linked to 400 destinations worldwide. The shipyard builds cruise ships. The aircraft industry is not to be forgotten, a sector hosting one of the largest Airbus production plants. The 69,000 residents of Saint-Nazaire, 115,000 in its greater urban area, and its many visitors love the coastal path, the recently rehabilitated waterfront and the twenty beaches offered by this, the second largest town in the Loire-Atlantique. 2.6 million people have already toured the tourist attractons of the Port City. Fans of boating appreciate Escal’Atlantic, a fabulous reconstruction of the giant liners that took their passengers on crossings to the New World. Saint-Nazaire indeed has many surprises up its sleeve, in cultural but also commercial terms, notably with the Ruban Bleu shopping area facing the docks.

“Over the past few years, Saint-Nazaire has experienced a real metamorphosis,” says Muriel Mazeau of Mazeau Immobilier. Old neighbourhoods are being treated to a facelift, while others rise from the ground. The fourth community of the Pays de la Loire is learning to look towards the sea again, taking the opposite approach to that adopted by post-war urban development. New arrivals, their fingers burnt by prices in La Baule, transferred executives and retirees are all showing an interest in the site. Currently, construction of the Cité Sanitaire, an ultra-modern healthcare centre slated to employ 2,500 people as from 2012, is in full swing. The housing market is doing well and low-energy building is a central concern. Among her recent sales, Muriel Mazeau mentions a 1930’s house of 110 m2 with a garden of 180 m2, near the Jardin des Plantes, acquired for 350,000 € by a couple of 40 year-olds with children in the region, an apartment of 70 m2, with neither cellar nor garage on the Avenue de la République, that a Parisian buyer intends rent out for a gross return of 7 %, and a new 2-bedroom house in Quebrais, near L'Immaculée, sold for 182,000 € and eligible for the Scellier tax scheme, not forgetting an apartment of 65 m2 in the same development, sold for 160,000 €.

“2010 turned out to be a good year for old buildings,” say Eddy Leclerc and Emmanuel Naffrechoux of the Groupe CISN Atlantique, an entity founded in 1930, active in all aspects of real estate, development, construction, subdivision, co-ownership and property administration, and even banking, via the Crédit Immobilier de France. Saint-Nazaire draws a majority of buyers looking for permanent homes, ready to spend 180,000 € on a house of 90 m2 with a garden of 400 m2, or 160,000 € for an apartment with 3/4 main rooms, ie. 2,300 €/m2. This ratio inevitably rises the closer one gets to the ocean. The average price attains 3,700 €/m2 in Pouliguen, 4,600 €/m2 in Pornichet and 4,700 €/m2 in La Baule, while front-row properties soar to 9,000-10,000 €/m2. This company is currently marketing four developments in Saint-Nazaire, aimed at a diverse clientele of both residents and investors. “Le Parc Delzieux” benefits from VAT at 5.5 %, exemption from charges for first-time buyers and a price of 2,600 instead of 2,900 €/m2, provided that the owner agrees to lease the apartment for 15 years. Also enjoying reduced VAT, “Canopée” offers 1-bedroom apartments at 112,000 €. “Villès Plages”, a complex on the seafront at 3,000-3,300 €/m2, bears the low-energy BBC label. Lastly, near the centre and Parc Paysager, “Villarmonia” posts prices close on 2,900 €/m2.

Catherine and Vincent Cruaud, managers of the Agence du Casino, an institution in La Baule, have also set up shop in Saint-Brévin. The manageress and two agents radiate outwards other towns on the estuary. In 2009, the crisis hit Saint-Brévin in two respects : first-time buyers saw their standards of living decline, while holiday makers in search of a summer base postponed their acquisition plans, just like seniors who found it hard to sell their houses or apartments in large French cities before being able to afford retirement in Brittany. 2010 and this year have proved to be more encouraging, with 60 % of purchases intended for year-round occupancy. The market should again enjoy a resurgence of activity, as long as sellers stick closely to professional estimates. The commune’s overall price-grid is based on scales practised in Saint-Nazaire and those of Pornichet, Pouliguen and La Baule. For apartments, it is pegged at about 3,000 €/m2, whereas a renovated villa of 81 m2 opening out to a garden of 430 m2, within walking distance of the beach, is priced at 280,000 €. On residential estates further inland, one can naturally find more extensive living space and larger grounds. 1950’s villas in the historic heart of town are popular, though they generally offer less generous surface areas and do not offer any potential for enlargement, due to the construction ratios currently in force.