Toulon, capital of Le Var

On the shores of the Mediterranean, at the foot of Mont Faron, the third largest town in the Provence-Alpes Côte d’Azur region is home to 169,000 residents, with over 546,000 people living in its greater urban area.

Economic activity in the capital of the Var mainly revolves around commerce and the tourist industry. The town hosts France’s largest seaport and the naval base. Less than 4 hours from Paris on the TGV train, it benefits from an ideal geographic location, also easily accessible by road and plane. Furthermore, Toulon scores the highest national rate for sunshine, with 290 days per year ! Over the years, the heart of town has grown around its cathedral. The Old Town has many small buildings with ochre, yellow and rose-coloured frontages on narrow, winding streets. The commune also consists of the neighbourhoods of La Haute-Ville, La Basse-Ville, sectors to the west and more desirable neighbourhoods to the east such as Le Mourillon, a real Provençal village and an enclave within the town.

“In our sector extending from La Mitre to Sainte-Marguerite, demand is for year-round homes 4 times out of 5,” says Christèle Pinaut, manageress of Mourillon Immo - Agence de la Poste. “Three out of every 4 sales consist of apartments with buyers being members of the local working population or retirees settling in Toulon . 1- and 2-bedroom apartments sell best, especially in small recent residences. Clients shy away from old buildings with high energy consumption, or large residences in which the amount of charges inevitably weighs on their final decision.” Apartments in tower blocks near the merchant port, sailing harbour and seafront consequently range from 1,700 to 2,000 € per sq. metre, whereas those between Le Baseil and the sea are pegged at around 3,000 € per sqm. The market for villas is also multi-faceted. Houses in good locations that do not suffer from noise or any other disturbances continue to find takers. “Prices in Le Mourillon remain high compared to those in neighbouring areas. A lot of buyers with budgets of over 500,000 €, enabling them to acquire an address in this prized neighbourhood, prefer to move slightly further out to obtain larger surface areas, especially as Cap Brun and La Serinette propose some very appealing properties at competitive prices,” adds our specialist, who nevertheless deplores the fact that, since introduction of the ALUR scheme, demand for rental investments in old buildings has dropped significantly on the commune. “Owners prefer to leave their properies empty or ask potential tenants for lots of supporting documents”…

“2014 saw prices holding, though at a lower level,” says Patrice Baille, director of the GTI-GPI agency. “Toulon’s market is boosted by three highly-prized areas : Le Mourillon, Cap Brun and Le Bas Faron, where prices are close on 4,500 € per sqm. Then comes the town centre, with the neighbourhood around Place de la Liberté – known as the “Golden Square” -, which posts prices from 2,800 to 3,000 € per sqm, while the more affordable Pont du Las and Saint-Jean du Var propose properties from 2,000 € per sqm. In this highly built-up environment, the market is mainly comprised of apartments. Demand is there, offers are serious and backed by banks proposing historically low mortgage rates. However, sellers are often disappointed by the proposals they receive, particularly if they acquired their homes after 2006 : for them, managing to sell without taking a loss has become a real achievement…” Now holding sway over the market, buyers are mostly actively employed, with a significant share of first-time buyers. What about rental investments ? “Introduction of the Pinel scheme looks very promising : we are, in fact, going to commercialise a development of 10 apartments on the slopes of Le Bas Faron. In real terms, and as compared to the old Duflot scheme, this new law makes proceedings more flexible for the investor. Let’s take the example of an apartment of 65 m2 with 2/3 bedrooms, worth 300,000 € : while hoping for a rental return of about 3 %, you must above all take into account the tax reduction, enabling you to save up to 61,000 € over 12 years.” One good reason for being optimistic about 2015 !

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