Terraces in Toulouse, charm underscored by rarity

At the crossroads of major European routes, the “Pink City” is laid out in concentric circles around its historic centre. While outdoor areas, all kinds combined, are not rare in the town, terraces in the hyper-centre are much more widely sought-after.

The birthplace of Airbus, Toulouse is regarded as a European technopole playing host to many spearhead industries associated with aeronautics, computer science and space. The 4th largest city in France has 440,203 residents within its walls, and chalks up high population growth, one of the highest rates in Europe, with a greater urban area accommodating over 850,000 people. Its urban growth explains the circles which have gradually formed around its ancient heart with its left and right banks. Near the historic centre, neighbourhoods and “faubourgs” are to be discovered around the stations and along the city’s boulevards, main roads leading out of town.

You can almost count on the fingers of one hand the properties with terraces for sale in the old part of Toulouse. A 5-bedroom penthouse of 220 m2, including a terrace of 35 m2, is on offer for 598,000 €. The hyper-centre, around the Capitole, enjoys a real aura and properties with terraces which come up for sale do not stay long on agencies’ files. A 3-bedroom apartment of 113 m2 with a terrace of 12 m2, in a rehabilitated old building, full of charm, is awaiting a taker at 640,000 €. Still in the hyper-centre, a mansion whose living space of 143 m2 is laid out around a terrace is priced at 680,000 €. In a recent residence this time, a 3-bedroom apartment of 165 m2 with a lovely terrace of 83 m2 overlooking the Garonne, an elevator and parking place, is estimated at 785,000 €. “Supply is, however, far from meeting demand,” comments Marc Cellura of the RBI agency. “A terrace in the historic part of Toulouse adds 10 % to the property’s value.” The clients with high purchasing power who are looking to acquire such properties include Airbus employees transferred to the city, and more rarely retirees, for whom an elevator is essential. On leaving the hyper-centre but still in the centre of Toulouse, some of the apartments are more recent and benefit from amenities inherent to modern buildings, elevators and garages or parking facilities. Prices here remain high. On Avenue Jean Jaurès, a 1980’s residence proposes a duplex of 168 m2 with a terrace of 32 m2 and two parking places for 795,000 €. With the terrace giving onto the “allées”, this is a property which will typically attract a family of senior executives who love city life and its amenities but don’t want to sacrifice their living standards. “Particularly thanks to Airbus, we see French but also foreign buyers, especially Spanish,” says Laure Boudé of the Eurim agency, who also notes that “some new arrivals rent while searching for the property that really suits them”. These future owners take the time to reflect, usually for about a year, like a British client who initially rented an apartment of 90 m2 on Rue de Couteliers, with a parking place and a terrace of 13 m2 overlooking the Garonne, for 1,500 € per month. Posting high prices due to scarcity, the rental market can attain 20 € per sq. metre in the city centre. Over and above 2,000 € per month, we are talking about houses. There again, it is common to see tenants occupying them for up to 18 months before signing a deed of sale.

Once a little further away from the centre, it becomes easier to find properties with outdoor areas. La Côte Pavée, to the east of the city, slightly elevated, is popular among well-off families who appreciate the quietness, leafy settings and several schools. Houses here cost from 600,000 to 1 million euros. A lovely 1930’s residence of 270 m2, tastefully renovated, with a garden of 200 m2 and swimming pool, on a pretty street, drew the attention of a French couple transferred to Toulouse, who paid 1,375,000 € to move in. At the lower end of La Côte Pavée, a home of 180 m2 with a terrace of 110 m2 and 3 parking places is on offer at 830,000 €. Towards the Jardin des Plantes, south-east of the hyper-centre, a fully renovated bourgeois house of 250 m2 with a garden of 400 m2 is pegged at 1 million euros. “Properties offering special features see their prices rise immediately,” says Marie Charles of Propriété Privée. In the Saint-Exupéry neighbourhood, south of La Côte Pavée and near the exit from the ring-road, one finds some very desirable properties, such as a very sleek architect-designed house with substantial living space of 240 m2, a sauna in the basement and a large garden of 1,000 m2, which can be had for 1,440,000 €. Cheaper than if it were located in La Côte Pavée, this property will be of interest to a senior executive and his family. Yet, in the “Pink City”, nothing will ever replace a lovely terrace, right in the centre, with a view of the Garonne.