Vaison-la-Romaine : a very enviable life-style

An authentic commune offering a full array of amenities within a natural environment, Vaison-la-Romaine offers living conditions of exceptional quality. Its highly residential accommodation is thus very appealing, especially to senior citizens.

An address in Provence with a very lively cultural life, Vaison-la-Romaine benefits from lots of sunshine and a lovely setting comprised of wooded hillsides, olive-groves and vineyards. A small town with slightly over 6,000 inhabitants, conveniently located (27 km from Orange, 50 km from Avignon, and their TGV stations), it is a great place to live, especially as it has numerous shops and amenities (several schools, a hospital centre…). Not forgetting, of course, its inestimable architectural legacy : the famous Roman bridge (1st C. AD), the Roman town and its thermal spas (1st and 2nd C.), and medieval monuments which are incredibly well preserved and presented (Château of the Counts of Toulouse, Cathedrals of Notre-Dame-de-Nazareth and Sainte-Marie-de-l’Assomption, cloisters…).

“Diverse and attractive, the property market is relatively buoyant, especially for properties with price-tags up to 450,000 €. And even though prices have been subjected to a lot of bargaining over the past few years, transactions here for houses are more lively than in Orange, Valréas or Carpentras,” says Jean-Pierre Garcia, manager and director of CTI L’Immobilier en Provence, the oldest agency in Vaison (founded in 1989), covering a radius of up to 30 km around the town, and sometimes further afield for exceptional properties. “With a budget of 400,000-450,000 €, you can set your sights here on a lovely house with a landscaped garden and swimming pool, in a good location. For more substantial homes offering more extensive living space, such as a “mas” built of stone, you can expect to pay around 700,000 €. Finally, desirable properties with lots of character range from 1 to 1.5 million euros.” A few minutes from Vaison, a “mas” of 360 m2 on approx. 3.45 acres of land with a pool is, for example, currently on offer at 1,250,000 €. “Building land is available from 150 € per sqm, or up to 180 € per sqm with a beautiful view.” In recent years, 60 % of Jean-Pierre Garcia’s clientele consisted of foreigners. “Nowadays, French buyers account for that same percentage.”

Based in Vaison for over 20 years, Antoine Mattar of L’Immobilière du Ventoux specializes in stone houses within a 50-km radius of Vaison, or even further for outstanding examples. He describes satisfactory activity which could, however, be given a boost by an overall revision of prices : “Too many properties are still over-estimated, which slows the pace of transactions. Just like the tax to be paid on sales of houses, which is much too high. On the other hand, when owners agree to reconsider their prices, their properties soon find takers”. Initially priced at 695,000 €, a house of about 200 m2 in 4,000 m2 of grounds with a pool thus recently sold for 550,000 €. Idem for a farmhouse in need of renovation, initially proposed at 440,000 €, which changed hands for 340,000 €, and a village house originally on offer at 145,000 €, which sold for 100,000 €. “As for new properties, a development near the town centre with ten or so apartments is to be launched at the beginning of 2016. Prices will range from 3,500 to 4,000 € per sqm.” Antoine Mattar’s clientele is now mostly comprised of retirees wanting to settle in a sunny, peaceful region. “There are, in fact, fewer clients for holiday homes, discouraged by the costs of maintenance. Some owners resort to renting out their homes in order to cover them.”

The manager of Boschi Immobilier, a family-run agency founded in 1960 with three addresses in the northern Vaucluse (Vaison-la-Romaine, Valréas and Visan) and three more in the Drôme Provençale (Nyons, Buis-les-Baronnies and Dieulefit), David Boschi receives enquiries for the Vaison area from three main types of buyers : “Young retirees, to begin with, aiming to live permanently in Provence. Mainly from the Paris and Lyonnais regions or northern France, they are mostly looking for a villa all on one floor, with no renovation required, in a quiet residential area, preferably near the town centre. The majority have budgets ranging from 250,000 to 350,000 €, while others in search of a larger property, more high-class and benefiting from a pool, are ready to pay up to 450,000 €”. As evidenced by two recent sales : in a quiet neighbourhood in immediate proximity to the centre, a single-storey villa of about 90 m2 in good condition, with a garden of over 1,000 m2, priced at 262,000 € ; and a comfortable villa of 120 m2 in grounds of 1,280 m2 with a pool, acquired for 390,000 €. “Then there are French, Belgian and British clients looking for holiday homes, who can be split into two categories : those wanting a family residence in the country, from 300,000 to 500,000 €, and those in search of a lovely stone “mas” priced from 500,000 to 1 M €.” By way of example, a house of over 165 m2 on 1,450 m2 of land with a pool found a buyer at 430,000 €, and a restored “mas” of approx. 180 m2 with a pool on al­most 7.5 acres sold for 695,000 €.