The property market on the banks of the Sorgue
Yann Cohignac - 10 September 2015
A small river 35 km long flowing through the plain of Le Comtat Venaissin, the Sorgue and its branches constitute a hydrological basin with a high level of biodiversity and a good range of tourist and sports activities.
Rising in La Fontaine de Vaucluse, the largest spring in metropolitan France (and 5th largest in the world), La Sorgue splits in two at L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue (a site christened “Le Partage des Eaux”) to form La Sorgue de Velleron and La Sorgue d’Entraigues (which then split into several dozen streams) before flowing into L’Ouvèze at Bédarrides (not forgetting the Canal de Vaucluse, a deviation of La Sorgue d’Entraigues which crosses Avignon to join the Rhône). Used for centuries for its hydraulic power (over 100 structures stand along its banks), the river thus constitutes the Bassin des Sorgues, a site belonging to the European Natura 2000 network with varied and unusual flora and fauna. An area which is particularly pleasant to live in, dotted with charming and typically Provençal communes, offering a number of tourist, sports and cultural activities (canoing-kayaking, fishing, a “corso nautique” held each year in L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, cycling excursions…).
Responsible for the Janssens Immobilier agency in L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue since 2013, Franck de Mondésir specializes in sales of houses of class and character throughout Le Pays des Sorgues and Les Monts de Vaucluse (a group founded in 1999, Janssens Immobilier has three more offices in Bonnieux, Lourmarin and Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, covering the Luberon and Les Alpilles) : “Though some sales here can exceed 3 million euros, most of today’s demand is for properties priced from 700,000 to 1.3 million euros. By way of example, we just sold a villa in Saint-Antoine, one of the three hamlets forming L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, for 895,000 €. Offering four bedrooms, grounds of 4,000 m2 and a pool with overflow effect, it benefits from a prime location and is not overlooked.” A steady and lively market, “especially since the month of June”, drawing a mainly foreign clientele (from Belgium, the UK, Luxembourg, and a few Canadians) looking for holiday homes. “Otherwise, we are contacted by clients from in and around Paris, and a few from Le Var, in search of peace and quiet.”
The manageress of Soleil de Provence Immobilier, an agency opened in Lagnes in 2005, Martine Sanchez covers the area within a radius of 15 to 20 km : “We can thus handle sales and rentals in the Luberon with attractive addresses such as Gordes, and the appealing plain of Les Sorgues”. The agency’s portfolio contains a wide choice of properties ranging from maisonnettes at about 100,000 € to large properties pegged at over 1 M €. “Over the past year, however, demand has mainly focused on properties under 400,000 €. A small house of 60 m2, for example - with extension possible - and a garden of 1,000 m2 recently found a taker at around 150,000 €.” Other recently completed sales include two building plots of almost 2,000 m2 for around 200,000 €. “Given its relative rarity, and unlike old houses, building land is hardly ever the subject of bargaining.” Martine Sanchez’s clientele is mainly comprised of locals, including numerous young clients with considerable income after already having sold a property, and retirees from Paris or Lyon wanting to settle in the region. “A few foreigners - English, Belgian and Swiss - in fact move here on a permanent basis.”