Tassin la Demi-Lune, undergoing extensive transformation

Part of the greater urban area of Lyon, this town with 19,345 residents owes its name to the half-moon crossing of ancient royal roads. At the gateway to the prefecture, it is looking forward to a rosy future. High living standards are its watchword...

Tassin la Demi-Lune, undergoing extensive transformation Part of the greater urban area of Lyon, this town with 19,345 residents owes its name to the half-moon crossing of ancient royal roads. At the gateway to the prefecture, it is looking forward to a rosy future. High living standards are its watchword... As Sébastien Laubier of L’Agence Le Home explains : “Aged under 60, two-thirds of “Tassilunois” are still actively employed. 65 % own their own homes. In 70 % of cases, the living space exceeds 40 m2, all types of accommodation combined, and 25 % of the town’s residents enjoy living space of at least 100 m2. Three-quarters of the homes consist of apartments.” Bordering on Lyon’s 5th and 9th “arrondissements”, Saint-Genis-les-Ollières, Francheville, Charbonières- les-Bains, Ecully, Craponne and Marcy-L’Etoile, Tassin is historically a place of passage and exchange to the west of Lyon, a kind of hiatus between the town and countryside. Urban planning policies encourage more densely built-up areas. The neighbourhood of L’Horloge is being treated to new apartment buildings, whereas Tassin Bourg gives precedence to substantial middle-class properties. The airy landscape offers junior schools and even a small train station. Recently, a residence of close on 300 m2 built in 1910 (seven bedrooms), in need of renovation, in a flat garden of 1,673 m2 which could take a pool, found a taker at 1,050,000 €. Sébastien Laubier says that contemporary houses are very popular, especially due to their low energy consumption - and even if one has to build them oneself. A plot of 500 m2 costs 440,000 €. Often out-dated, houses built in the 1950’s, 1960’s, 1970’s and 1980’s frequently languish in his files. Retirees opt for garden-level or top-floor apartments with terraces. One senior recently paid 285,000 € for an apartment of 88 m2 in need of refurbishment, opening out to a generously-sized loggia. Another paid 480,000 € for living space of 137 m2 with a garden of 800 m2. Thanks to recent improvements, the rail network meets the needs of the locals, also benefiting from excellent bus services and the creation of the “tram-train”. The TEO ring-road joins up with the entrance to the commune, and the TOP project is pursuing prolongation of the road towards the west.

“Tassin is a great place to live, a town undergoing extensive transformation, simply separated from Lyon by the Fourvière tunnel,” says Véronique Combes-Martin of Orpi L’Immobilière Associés. “Work on the new centre which began in 2007 is advancing, and shops are opening in Le Mail des Tuileries.” The price-grid for properties ranges from 1,900 € per sq. metre, a ratio found in 1960’s residences, to 5,000-6,000 € per sq. metre, as posted by a luxury development in a park with terraces, small private gardens and on-site garages. These exceptional apartments attain the same price-levels as those in old town mansions in the most highly-prized neighbourhoods of Lyon. The prestigious old house is a micro-market shared by insiders : a rare commodity, and therefore not very active, despite sustained demand. While many residences are springing up around the perimeter of the Town-hall area, Méginand still has an old farm. Les Croisettes, Avenue Gambetta and the heart of town still propose more standard houses. One seller is currently asking 417,000 € for one example of 108 m2 with a garden of 180 m2, another owner wants 355,000 € for a charming home of 90 m2 built in 1923 and requiring modernization, in a garden of 495 m2. Apartments with three or four bedrooms are in demand. One of 100 m2 with a terrace and double garage has just been sold in a landscaped development built in 2005, for 420,000 € ; another of 111 m2, renovated, in a small 1980’s residence, with a loggia facing south, for 375,000 €. Finally, a few investors are showing an interest : one such client paid 145,000 € for a 1960’s apartment of 56 m2, likely to bring monthly rental income of 650 €.

”The aim is clear : to eradicate the disparities between Tassin and the neighbouring urban area, while making good living standards a lasting priority,” comments Patricia Briday of Briday Immobilier. Far from becoming an unsightly overspill area, Tassin la Demi-Lune has retained a village atmosphere and lots of open green spaces, just 10 minutes from the centre of Lyon via the tram-train. Local workers are awaiting the creation in 2013 of a 20-minute link between Brignais and Saint-Paul. Among her latest sales, Patricia Briday mentions an apartment of 92 m2 with a garden and double garage in a residence built in 2004 with a pool, which sold in less than 24 hours for 350,000 € after bargaining for a reduction of 10,000 €. 70 % of the clientele are actively employed, 20 % investors and 10 % retirees. Fairly estimated, a recent property changes hands with no trouble at all. 3,600-3,800 € is the most frequently quoted price per sq. metre. The real difficulty lies in convincing sellers about market realities. While demand outstrips supply, no-one in this day and age is prepared to pay over the odds for a home.