Adjustments in Nice
International financing has sprung a leak, realty is on edge and bricks and mortar in Nice have not escaped the correction. But this overly simplistic analysis deserves more precision : fairly priced and without any major flaw, a property still sells readily in the capital of the Alpes-Maritimes.
Every year ten million tourists flock to Nice. This is because the international airport, France’s second busiest after Paris with 17 low-cost airlines, has endowed itself with the necessary means. Vacationers love the coastline 10 km long, Nice’s little squares with a Sardinian atmosphere, the many fountains, prestigious hillsides surveying the Mediterranean, and the centre which fully deserves its nickname : the Golden Square. With the turn of the century, property values soared. The town’s 350,000 inhabitants kept abreast at the cost of enormous efforts, abandoning certain sectors such as Mont-Boron or the Promenade des Anglais. Meanwhile, the gem of the French Riviera treated itself to a tramway, running north to south, and a brand new pedestrian heart. Not content with rehabilitating Place Masséna, it pursued its renovation of various neighbourhoods, attracting foreign and increasingly chic clients. Last fall, the stock market collapsed and the activity which had reached a climax here just 12 months ago, slowed down. Both buyers and members of the industry are calling on sellers to be more reasonable. Many are paying heed and allowing a relatively smooth transition. Others cling to their bulwarks and participate in the blocus high-lighted by the media. With stocks reconstituted, it’s time to negotiate. If there’s no doubt about a temporary decline in the volume of transactions, it is preferable to evoke a correction in prices than announce a decline for which we do not yet have sufficient hindsight.
“A true amphitheater overlooking the Mediterranean, Nice is surrounded by hills. Just a 10-minute drive from the centre, they propose both countrified settings and different micro-markets,” say Jean-Claude Caputo and Alexis Carle from Riviera Estate Savills. Cimiez, the traditional stronghold of Nice’s dignatories, is probably the most urban. Classy apartments rub shoulders with town houses and private mansions. With rehabilitation on the cards, this sector starts at 1.4 million €. “Belle Epoque” buildings such as the Regina and Riviera Palace compensate for their high service charges and lack of gardens with incomparable prestige. At the Hermitage, an apartment of 175 m2 in perfect condition has just found a taker at 880,000 €. A renovated apartment of the same size in the Winter Palace will fetch 1,160,000 €. In a more recent residence, a penthouse can also reach these prices. Gairaut offers plunging views down to the Mediterranean and a greater density of buildings than that of Rimiez, an authentic and luxuriant neighbourhood which is an extension of Cimiez. Gated and guarded estates are still popular, as evidenced by the success of Le Château d’Azur or Châteauneuf in Gairaut and Saint-Exupéry in Rimiez. You’ll need to pay 2,850,000 € for a contemporary villa, fully refurbished and opening out to the Med, with living space of 350 m2 and grounds of 2,800 m2, or 1,315,000 € for a house of 215 m2 in good condition and set in grounds of 1,800 m2.
Facing south-west, Mont-Boron marks the border between Nice and Villefranche, with which it is sometimes assimilated. Nature participates in this picture-postcard scenery, accessible on foot from the port and offering breathtaking sea views. Some buyers pick up bargains, such as a client who acquired 145 m2 to be restored in a “Belle Epoque” building, extended by two terraces facing the deep blue sea, for 750,000 €. “The tense economic situation has had two main effects on this neighbourhood : fresh availability of numerous high-class properties and readjustment of prices,” comments Chuck McKee of the Haussmann agency. Forgotten are the exaggerations of recent years. Real-estate agents admit to being particularly comfortable in this market, now in line with reality. The main asset offered by Mont-Boron is its condominiums of very high quality. Apartments are thus doing wonderfully well, slightly better than houses, hitherto popular among the Russians, a wealthy clientèle currently in disarray. Scandinavians are gaining ground, buyers from Paris and Lyon with international careers are taking up position, while the British are waiting for a more favorable exchange rate. 90 % of buyers are from outside the region, young fans of urban amenities, a recent and very marked sociological change. 2-bedroomed flats cost around 1 million €. With classy appointments and panoramic view of the Med, this type of apartment can easily aspire to 10,000 €/m2. Villas start at 1.2 million € and are readily available in the 2 to 3.5 million € bracket. Palaces built in the late 19th or early 20th century, ranging from 400 to 500 m2, are on offer from 5 to 8 million €. Some such properties hit the headlines. As, for example, the Chateau Latour, acquired by a Scandinavian two years ago, the Villa Beau-Site, magnificent but hard to manage given the constraints of its historical listing, or the former home of Sean Connery. Sold by Haussmann in 2003, it is apparently up for sale again.
“In the town centre, the slowdown is effacing the effects, nevertheless very positive, of Place Masséna’s refurbishment and the opening of the traway,” admits Monica Cyrul from Nice Properties. Even so, the area still attracts Italians, North Europeans and Russians, particularly active in the spring. In the “Golden Square”, they generally pay 4,500-5,000 €/m2. Recently, a British buyer acquired a small 2-roomed flat on Rue Paradis for 9,000 €/m2. Those who want “everything right on hand” head towards Saint-François-de-Paule and the Old Town of Nice which post a similar price grid for desirable apartments. The Promenade des An-glais, Nice’s famous seafront, can be split into four distinct parts : the Quai des Etats-Unis, from 6,000 to 10,000 €/m2 ; the portion between the Albert 1er Gardens and Boulevard Gambetta, from 6,000 to 9,000 €/m2 ; the section towards Magnan, from 4,500 to 6,000 €/m2 ; and the strip near the airport, from 2,500 to 4,500 €/m2. A 2-bedroomed apartment requiring renovation in the Beau Rivage was recently on offer at 10,000 €/m2. Finally, the port area is attractive to investors. Placing their bets on the future marina, they pay from 4,000 to 8,000 €/m2, depending on floor and orientation, which makes the Quai des Deux Emmanuel popular. Franck-Pilatte posts an average close on 6,000 €/m2. Rising towards Mont-Boron, the Cap de Nice is home to a property of 100 m2, right at the water’s edge, with a 1.1 million € price-tag. Evidenty, an esteemed address combined with a sea view suffers from the economic slowdown in a much less dramatic way than so-called traditional real estate.
By Laetitia Rossi
