Cannes : “Come for a day, stay for a lifetime”…
World-famous for its International Film Festival and a colourful coastline lined with palatial hotels and yacht marinas, this town to the west of the Alpes-Maritimes has 73,000 residents and many devoted fans. Our estate-agents focus here on the high end of the property market, a booming segment in Cannes.
The crescent-shaped area occupied by Cannes measures 9 km east to west, 5 km north to south, in other words, about 4,846 acres. The coastal strip is very built-up, while the northern area, the hill of La Croix des Gardes and, of course, the Lérins Islands give pride of place to open green spaces. The land alternates harmoniously between plains and reliefs, including the historic neighbourhood of Le Suquet and the hill of La Maure, rising to an altitude of 260 meters. Reached by the A8 motorway, the town, which holds no less than five daily or weekly markets (La Bocca, Forville, Gambetta, Les Allées de la Liberté and L’Etang), plays host to a relatively elderly population compared to the rest of the region. The main job-providers are the tourist industry, the town-hall, the hospital centre and the aeronautics industry. In 2007, Cannes reported 10,665 companies and 39,636 employees*. The same year, a survey carried out by Citi Private Bank ranked Cannes as the most expensive commune in France, outstripping Saint-Tropez, Nice, Deauville, La Baule, Biarritz, Dinard, Evian and even Paris. According to statistics also compiled in this period, 36.5 % of its accommodation consisted of holiday homes*. The resort, offering about one hundred hotels, of which a quarter are 4-star, hosts festivals and conferences throughout the year : the NRJ Music Awards, International Real Estate Trade Fair, International Market for TV Programmes and the International Yacht Festival.
Heathcliff Zingraf of the Michaël Zingraf Group, a network dealing exclusively with luxury real estate, notes a slight slowdown in the 2-6 million euro bracket, but renewed demand for properties beyond that level. 95 % of the first group consists of occasional residents, foreigners in most cases - Russians, Scandinavians and North Europeans. One of them has just paid 3.5 million euros for a villa of 300 m2 to be restored in its entirety, in grounds of 3,000 m2 in La Californie, facing the Med. In the second bracket, the number of Russian clients, fond of properties offering ostentatious luxury, is on the rise. In 2011, for example, the agency orchestrated the sale of a property of 1,000 m2 in good condition, in grounds of 8,000 m2 enjoying a plunging sea view from the top end of La Californie, bearing a price-tag of 15 million euros. We must not, however, delude ourselves : transactions of over 8 million euros concluded each year can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Fans of apartments continue to focus their attention on the Croisette. More than a simple address, it is seen as a real visiting card, an undeniably safe haven, capable of reaching 35,000 €/m2 in older buildings. Very often, potential purchasers, including a good percentage of French retirees, sell their villas, less practical and requiring more maintenance, to be closer to this seafront blessed by the gods. In the case of apartments, other neighbourhoods tend to be more influenced by market fluctuations. A desirable specimen in a luxury residence in La Californie, with a pool, park, sea view and tennis courts, ranges from 12,000 to 15,000 €/m2, with a starting-price of 8,000 €/m2. Heathcliff Zin-graff regrets the disparity between the prices asked and those actually accepted, sometimes to the tune of 20-30 %. “Such manoeuvres are no longer effective. Today, acquisitions are based on rationality.”
“The crisis has mainly affected buyers of holiday homes prepared to pay from 1 to 3 million euros. Many have in fact postponed their plans. Above this level, potential clients seem less hesitant and are generally quicker in coming to a decision,” says Régis Ramette of the John Taylor agency. Similarly, the famous margins for negotiation are wider from 800,000 to 1.5 million euros in the case of apartments, and from 1.5 to 4 million euros for villas. Since last June, the agency has sold four residences between 5 and 10 million euros, all in La Californie.Today, 3 million euros no longer suffice to acquire a house in excellent condition in Cannes, well-positioned with a panoramic sea view. For individual properties in La Californie and Super-Cannes, one needs a budget of 15,000-20,000 €/m2. On the Corniche du Paradis Terrestre and the Chemin des Collines, the surface area of the grounds, and the living space, often close on 400 m2, prove to be more generous. Inevitably, the prices practised are correlated, and transactions fewer in number. Over the past four years, so-called historic properties - La Tropicale, Le Palais Florentin, Le Palais Oriental, Bagatelle and La Fleurière - have changed hands between 20 and 30 million euros. Demand is there, but it is always difficult to match the expectations of the two parties concerned. Once you reach these levels, logic gives way to a much more emotional dimension. As for apartments, John Taylor completed its marketing programme for the very select development in the Palm Beach neighbourhood, the aptly named Palm Building, in 2010. The most exclusive lots sold from 20,000 to 30,000 €/m2. The market is now eagerly awaiting construction of Le 7 Croisette, by Eiffage. Already sold out, the top floors range from 35,000 to 45,000 €/m2. Most clients are looking to acquire entire floors, ie. several lots. If the popularity of the Croisette has never wavered, apartment buildings in other neighbourhoods are attracting more diluted interest.
“Contrary to all expectations, movements in the international financial markets have a limited impact on the property market in Cannes, which is also true of the new tax regulations,” says Karim Abel of Croisette Properties. “Stable, reasoned and less speculative, the market is holding up remarkably well. Probably due to the lack of building land, one salvation that spares the destination, unlike Spain or the United States, from any prospect of a decline.” Initial pricing is of vital importance, particularly if the owner wants to sell within a reasonable lapse of time. Estimated at its real value, a property will leave the agency files without too much trouble. By way of example, on his second visit, a French client looking for a year-round home agreed to pay 4.3 million euros for a recent residence of 300 m2 in grounds of 1,500 m2 facing the bay of Cannes. Finally, turnkey properties are highly sought-after. A Russian buyer recently paid 2 million euros, for example, for a fully restored apartment of 120 m2 on the Croisette. In this particular case, negotiations did not exceed 10 %. If our estate-agent is used to working with very wealthy foreign clients, virtually unlimited in terms of budgets, he nevertheless says that many people committed to living in Cannes are willing to invest in properties up to 3 million euros ; 2 million in the the case of apartments, and an additional million in the case of villas. And it is, in fact, this segment of the market which sees the main body of real-estate activity Cannes.
* Source Wikipedia
By Laetitia Rossi
