The southern part of the Loire, at the gateway to Nantes

Communes such as Rezé, Vertou and Bouguenais offer a compromise between amenities offered by towns and the charms of the countryside. Not forgetting a wide diversity of landscapes and types of living accommodation. A trip south of Nantes...

The degree of urbanization and facilities differs from one locality to the next and the public transport network covering the area has an impact on demand and then, of course, prices. 7 km separate Vertou, with 21,350 residents, from the Prefecture of département 44. In the valley of La Sèvre, it still keeps a large part of its land for agriculture and production of its famous Muscadet. Rezé lies at the confluence of the Loire and Sèvre rivers, only 3 km from the centre of Nantes. This address, formerly accommodating country peasants and the working class, is now home to 38,215 inhabitants, the fourth largest town in the département. The old fishing village of Trentemoult and the “Cité Radieuse” of Le Corbusier testify to perfect mastery of the demographic transition.

“Vertou is a really luxuriant setting on the banks of the Sèvre, offering pleasant spots for walks, relaxation and leisure such as the park of Le Loiry, the riverbanks, La Chaussée des Moine and Le Moulin Gautron,” says Jean-Pierre Scellos, manager of Century 21 By Ouest in Vertou. “Thanks to the six restaurants on the banks of the river, appetites are not forgotten, and the calendar of events features the Festival Charivari and horse-racing. 90 % of the accommodation is composed of detached houses of varying vintages.” Distinctions should be drawn between the various neighbourhoods : the historic centre, Beautour, bordering on Nantes and Saint-Sébastien, and Portereau, an area lying between the town and Rezé, offering villas with gardens of 700 to 1,500 m2 built in the 1990’s. Their price per sq. metre ranges on average from 2,450 to 2,650 €, a ratio to be weighted depending on the property’s exact localisation, appointments and condition. In the neighbourhood of Le Chêne, a tastefully restored, unusual house with two bedrooms and a full basement, opening out to a garden facing south, can be found for 238,700 €. Two km from the village, an old building with a courtyard, renovated throughout, with two large bedrooms, will cost 179,250 €.

”Traditionally, Vertou has always been popular among the middle-class of Nantes,” comments David Deconinck of Atout Sud Immobilier. “In the old days, they inherited lovely old properties with relatively high maintenance costs. Clients now wanting to take on the challenging adventure of construction need a plot of at least 1,000 m2 in order to obtain a building permit.” Proximity to Nantes is one of Rezé’s main assets. Over the past decade, the working-class connotation historically attached to the address, only separated by the Loire from the hyper-centre of Nantes, has no longer been justified. Some neighbourhoods in Rezé are, in fact, more expensive than the heart of Nantes. Starting with Trentemoult, on the banks of the Loire. A river crossed by locals on the “Navibus” in just six minutes. Transactions handled over the past six months, with the exception of spikes up to 800,000 €, range here from 84,000 € - the price of a studio of 17 m2 leased out at 420 €/month - to 640,000 € - the budget required for a home of 170 m2 with a garden of 550 m2 large enough to take a pool. Becoming a home-owner is more complicated for first-time buyers, usually obliged to stay below the 200,000 € level. Buyers make sure that their chosen addresses benefit from public transport services. Les Couëts in Bouguenais is thus more in demand than the village. Since 2008, as soon as one leaves the urban community, demand falls off significantly.