Alex Balkin - Savills French Riviera & Alps
“Résidences Immobilier has been a partner for 23 years. We share in common a love for prestige real estate.”
In a recent survey conducted by the Savills international network, covering over 70 countries, with 650 agencies and 40,000 staff members, the Côte d’Azur was designated the N°1 destination for a high-spec second residence. Alex Balkin of Savills French Riviera points out that the region outstrips prestigious addresses such as Monaco, Aspen, Tuscany, Majorca, or Saint-Moritz.
This popularity is explained by its wonderful year-round climate, its cultural richness, many leisure activities, restaurants of quality, luxury boutiques, 4-star hotels, and more. The Côte d’Azur also stands out for the buoyant prices of its prestige real estate, and its unequalled international reputation. Furthermore, the region is easily accessible thanks to France’s second most active airport, with 14 million passengers per year. Acquiring a second home on the Côte d’Azur is a purchase for pleasure, but also a sound longterm investment in a politically stable country.
The value-for-money ratio is better here than in destinations such as Palm Beach or Aspen, with a lower average price per square metre. Today, its property market is lively, underpinned by lower interest rates and favourable conditions for access to mortgages. Over the years, second residents prolong their stays, not hesitating to settle their families here and register their children in one of the numerous international schools, but also reassured by France’s excellent healthcare system.
Thanks to Internet technologies, teleworking from the Côte d’Azur has become easy. Many young entrepreneurs have chosen it as a real second home. The region offers a wide palette of landscapes between sea and mountains, allowing residents to enjoy breakfast on the beach and go skiing 1 hr 30 minutes later, paddleboarding in the Bay of Villefranche or shopping on the Croisette... Acclaimed by aristocrats as early as 1860 due to its climate and natural beauty, the Côte d’Azur remains a privileged location, unique worldwide.
