The 5th “arrondissement”, Lyon’s “green lung”

Lucius Munatius Plancus founded the Roman colony of Lugdunum in the year 43 B.C. And it was in today’s 5th “arrondissement” that Lyon was to pursue its development in the Age of Antiquity and the Middle Ages before occupying the land on the other side of the River Saône. It is home to the historic part of town and the hill of Fourvière.

Unquestionably the greenest part of the city with its parks, squares and public gardens, the 5th district covers an area of approx. 1,538 acres. Saint-Georges, Saint-Jean and Saint-Paul comprise Le Vieux Lyon, while residential neighbourhoods, more or less recent, offer houses and apartment buildings : Fourvière, Saint-Just, Saint-Irénée, Le Point du Jour, Champvert and Ménival. The historic part of town gives pride of place to pedestrian streets, charming but not very practical, while these neighbourhoods between the centre of the capital of Rhône-Alpes and the buoyant pool of employment to the west, draw residents in quest of a certain quality of life.

“From the 5th, an airy and leafy neighbourhood with very good public transport services and excellent schools, it is just a 10-minute drive to the heart of the city,” says Eliane Betemps of Betemps Immobilier. It has a varied array of housing, from detached villas opening out to generous gardens to blocks of apartments built from the 1960’s onwards, popular among white-collar workers in search of convenience. Among her latest sales, our estate-agent mentions an apartment of 67 m2 in good condition, prolonged by a terrace of 24 m2 and benefitting from a garage, sold for 260,000 €. A single visit then sufficed to find a taker for a top-floor apartment of 91 m2 with a terrace of 102 m2, at 302,000 €. Another example of 95 m2 in a 1990’s residence with parking facilities sold for the same price after being on the market for only one month. Villas are rare and expensive commodities. One of them - 135 m2 with a garden of 467 m2 near La Salette - changed hands at 375,000 €. Overall, transactions range from 150,000 to 600,000 €. Characterized by very few offerings, Le Point du Jour and Saint-Just are always in high demand. Young people, retirees and families are drawn to this less dense urban setting, its easy parking and pleasant atmosphere. Especially as these neighbourhoods still have room for improvement. Inefficient in terms of energy savings, their 1960’s residences have been affected more than others by the crisis.

“Open green spaces are a persuasive argument, together with the building’s quality,” says Philippe Guilloteau of Solvimo Lyon 5e. “Very often, clients request an assessment from the Architects of Les Bâtiments de France.” The rate of rotation is very low, with owners staying put, just like prices, in fact. The rare sellers frequently reinvest in the same neighbourhood. The presence of a terrace, or a garden in the case of ground-floor apartments, makes for an easier sale, shortens the lead time and reduces the likelihood of bargaining. The various neighbourhoods offer appreciable diversity. Slightly trendy 40 and 50 year-olds target Le Vieux Lyon, now fully rehabilitated. It bears comparison with La Croix-Rousse, though offers slightly lower prices. Old apartments in good condition range, for example, from 3,500 to 3,800 €/m2. Their equivalents in Saint-Just also revolve around 3,600 €/m2. More affordable, Les Battières, bordering Tassin-la-Demi-Lune, Francheville and Sainte-Foy-lès-Lyon, benefits from the advantages of city life in a peri-urban setting. The 1960’s buildings largely found here are pegged around 2,300 €/m2.

“Relatively quiet, Saint-Just and Saint-Irénée enjoy a real village atmosphere, with the funicular railway providing quick access to the Old Lyon,” says Michel Gio of Rhône Patrimoine. These areas also offer immediate access to the motorway, a bonus for those working locally. Families, for their part, are attracted by the reputation of the schools. Houses share the territory with small-scale apartment buildings, a configuration which partly explains the lack of available properties. Le Point du Jour offers lots of shops, a lively square and very popular market. More built-up than Saint-Just since 1990, it has a wider choice of offerings for home-seekers. All neighbourhoods combined, Michel Gio admits noticing the first consequences of rising interest rates : he is getting fewer phone enquiries and over-valued properties are not even visited. However, correctly estimated, a property of quality still leaves the files quickly, sometimes even without discussion. In the 5th “arrondissement”, the rental market is doing well. Naturally, investment follows. Ready to pay 80,000-170,000 € for a studio, 1- or 2-bedroom apartment, the investor is looking for a return of about 4.5-5 %, as well as a sound long-term placement. Very often, parents who need to find accommodation for children at college or university prefer to buy rather than rent. Business and engineering schools and the music conservatory are close by, and university faculties easily accessible. Even so, 9 out of 10 transactions still involve main family homes.