The area south-west of Toulouse
By Laetitia Rossi - 16 September 2011
Tournefeuille, Cugnaux and L’Isle-Jourdain, situated respectively in the first and third belts around Toulouse, between La Haute-Garonne and Le Gers, offer three different facets of the area and as many types of housing and prices. Our estate-agents take us on a tour…
On the border with Toulouse, Tournefeuille is crossed by the River Touch. Now served by the Arc en Ciel and Fil d’Ariane bypasses, the A624 and bus-lines, the commune started to expand as from 1960 and today plays host to 25,580 residents. Built around its 18th-C. church and Louis XIII château, now housing the town-hall, it has a leisure centre called La Ramée on its territory. The site features an artificial lake 1,350 metres long and 100 metres wide, a swimming pool and golf-course. Activities include windsurfing, kayaks, biking and roller-blading. The 15-a-side rugby club plays in the 2nd division. Inaugurated in 1994, L’Usine focuses on street arts while L’Utopia prov-ides an outlet for the independent cinema. The auditorium Le Phare seats up to 3,500 spectators. Cugnaux, with 16,050 residents, partly makes its living from perfume making, the cultivation of grain and vines, and the raising of cattle and pigs. It offers four nursery and primary schools, an intermediate school and a secondary school proposing a few BTS (Advanced Technician Certificate) courses. Built on the River Save in Le Gers, 35 km from Toulouse and 40 km from Auch, L’Isle-Jourdain with over 7,000 inhabitants stands on the railway line connecting the two Prefectures. The highly-renowned wakeboard centre has already organized a World Cup event. Recently, a paint-ball centre was opened. Finally, renewable energies are used to heat the new indoor swimming pool.
“90 % of my activity concerns Tournefeuille, a residential area largely focusing on the service sector, 9 km from the Place du Capitole and not far from major pools of employment ; Airbus, Air-France, Cap Gemini, Météo-France and the Caisse d’Epargne. It offers lots of clubs and associations, and encourages the use of “soft” methods of transport such as bicycles,” says Henri Sarrans of Guy Hoquet L’Immobilier. The town mainly provides “horizontal” housing, with the rare blocks of apartments rarely exceeding 3 floors. Building land is very hard to find. 70 % of the residents are home-owners. Self-employed professionals, engineers, middle and senior executives spend on average 320,000 to 330,000 € for homes of 90-110 m2 in satisfactory condition, with gardens of 600 m2. Workers transferred to the region often pay cash. The starting-price for houses is 220,000 €, which brings a terraced house of 80 m2. Demand outstrips supply ; the lack of available properties is chronic and lead-time for sales completions extremely fast. All indicators for sales are green for go.
Cugnaux is having to deal with the closure of its army base and a re-orientation of the site. Potential purchasers tend to wait until the urban planning project has been redesigned. “For the time being, Cugnaux benefits from rapid access to Toulouse and Blagnac,” says Patrick Mille of the Elience agency. “A review of prices shows that properties here are making steady progress without ever reaching the levels attained by other towns within the first belt.” Offerings available range from 1-room apartments starting at 75,000 € to villas not far from La Ramée at around 450,000 €, via 2-room apartments from 130,000 €, 3-room apartments at 150,000 € and houses of 90 m2 - four main rooms and a garden of 900 m2 - at 250,000 €. Recently, one example of a house of 100 m2 in good condition, in the centre of Cugnaux, with a garden of 600 m2, found a new owner at 268,000 €. A farmhouse of 150 m2 in need of restoration, with almost 5 acres of land on the periphery, is worth 400,000 €.
“L’Isle-Jourdain is a 30-minute drive from Blagnac and less than 40 minutes from Toulouse,” says David Gotti of L’Occitane. “The rural setting promises a life-style of really high quality. The presence of schools up to secondary level and the dual carriageway linking the town to the Rose City facilitate everyday life for families, often employed in the capital of Haute-Garonne or the aerospace industry, and equally drawn by the attractive prices.” Among his latest sales, our estate-agent mentions a 3-bedroom villa of 126 m2 in mint condition, with grounds of 2,014 m2, sold for 260,000 € ; a 2-bedroom house of 96 m2 with a garden of 500 m2, acquired as a rental investment giving a yield close on 7 %, for 147,000 € ; and a villa of 160 m2 with lots of character, in grounds of 4,000 m2 benefitting from a pool and tennis court, sold for 410,000 €. A renovated building in the country - 185 m2 in grounds of 2,330 m2 just 10 mins from L’Isle-Jourdain - was then snapped up by a foreign buyer looking for a holiday home, at 282,000 €. Another of 170 m2 in grounds of 1,200 m2 with a pool left the agency files for 363,000 €. Most transactions range from 150,000 to 450,000 €. The market segment which is suffering the most concerns high-class properties. The departure of British clients is a real factor here, and demand hardly ever targets the price-bracket from 500,000 to 1 million euros. Overall, the address holds a lot of promise. In fact, a fairly estimated property sells without delay.