Cannes, the Festival City
The Festival City is one of the region’s most active luxury sectors.
The Festival City is one of the region’s most go-ahead sectors for the top end of the market.
No need to dwell on the arguments, they’re all too obvious ! An exceptional location, an enchanting climate and access facilitated by the proximity of France’s second busiest airport and a good highway network. But also, and above all, luxurious hotel infrastructures and media coverage at international level. The Film Festival, MIPIM (real-estate trade-fair), MIPCOM, MIPTV, FIFA (advertising) and MIDEM (music festival)… all make major contributions to the town’s prosperity. It’s therefore not surprising that its property market is also very healthy.
A guided tour with figures is what we need. Robert Bibas of the ABC 2000 agency describes the various neighbourhoods. La Californie is pretty much perfect : breathtaking views, luxuriant greenery, prestigious homes. Here one finds beautiful apartment blocks with parks, pools and sometimes tennis courts. The most highly-prized include Le Saint-Michel Valetta, Le Semiramis, Le Maripoza and L’Appolo. Prices start at 4,000 € per sq. metre in La Californie, though in these residences they can soar to 10,000 €. Villas range from 3,000,000 € to 10,000,000 €, with the exception of four properties which are real benchmarks for luxury in Cannes. Bagatelle, avenue des Pharaons, owes its renown to a party held to launch the Algerian chain owned by Rafik Khalifa, crowned by the presence of Sting, Bono, Gérard Depardieu and Melanie Griffith. Three houses and numerous annexes (totalling 5,000 m2) in 40 acres of grounds, several swimming pools, a discotheque, an open-air concert area and a monumental fountain… “Twice a record sale,” people murmur in Cannes. Just below, La Tropicale with living space of 1,500 m2 is tagged at 25,000,000 €. Notre-Dame-de-Grasse offers the same surface area but is 10,000,000 € cheaper. Or you could pay 12,000,000 € to become the happy owner of Bel Horizon. Super-Cannes and its well-known Chemin des Collines are just as highly sought-after for villas. The attraction ? Superb sea views. Expect to pay from 2,000,000 to 10,000,000 €. Fans of prestige apartments will opt for the Croisette, which posts a price-range of 8,000 to 15,000 € per sq. metre. High-class apartment blocks that are frequently mentioned include Le Gonnet de la Reine, Le Gray d’Albion and Le Miramar. La Croix-des-Gardes close to Cannes-La Bocca is more accessible. 3,000 to 6,000 € per sq. metre for apartments, 800,000 to 5,000,000 € for houses. Originally agricultural land, this sector mostly facing the sea is now home to properties which often require refurbishment. Michel Magrey of the agency of the same name adds that, for a building plot at La Californie, one would expect to pay from 450 to 600 € per sq. metre, 350 to 400 € at Super-Cannes and La Croix-des-Gardes.
Clients are getting younger. From 35 to 45 years old, they belong to the world of finance and are often looking for a holiday home. North Europeans head the list, as those from the East prefer the capes and the stretch of coast between Nice and Monaco. Jean-François Favelier, manager of the group Burger Sotheby’s International Realty Côte d’Azur, says that Americans are looking to sell, probably to benefit from the strength of the euro versus the dollar. Some cautious purchasers with an eye on security appreciate the concept of the gated and guarded estate. That of Les Hauts de Cannes with about thirty exclusive residences is very popular. Prices here range from 2,000,000 to 3,000,000 € for villas with living space of 180 to 220 m2 in grounds of about 1,500 m2.
Personal use is the motivation behind most acquisitions, though rising values over the medium and long term offer a highly attractive return on investment. Near-term speculation seems to be increasingly difficult. The go-ahead notion used above to describe a market characterized by strong demand and prolific supply is nevertheless subject to a few nuances. Robert Bibas mentions a certain blockage that he attributes more to a “wait-and-see” phenomenon than an unfavourable economic climate. Sure that they will soon see a drop in prices, announced on several occasions by the media, potential purchasers apparently want to put off their acquisitions until a later date. But one has to face the fact that it’s not likely to happen. Michel Magrey analyzes the situation : “For top-notch residences, 70 % of the buyers are foreigners of whom, for the past three years, 80 % are Anglo-Saxon. When one realises that in Great Britain transactions take two months on average as compared with one to two years in France, one can’t help but note a discrepancy between the two cultures. Between Latin sellers, used to negotiating, and buyers who are accustomed first to a property’s asking price being the same as its real market price, and second to greater rapidity. The estate agent has a role to play in this scenario. He must return to the basic foundations of his profession : property evaluation, advice, without playing the game of extravagant prices in order to become a client’s sole agent. Only a clear review of the situation and adaptation to the clients’ customs and expectations, especially those of foreigners, will lead to a more fluid market”. Pursuing the same objective, Jean-François Favelier is in favour of readjusting costs. By experience, one observes that a property market witnesses a strong rise every seven years. But we have seen two since 1998, accounting for a very significant rise of 40 % between the year 2000 and 2005. Today, there’s no over-bidding in a sector where this was once rife. Commenced in the first half of this year, the effort to be rational should continue in the right direction.
Members of the real-estate industry declare themselves to be unanimously optimistic. “There’s no-where in the world like Cannes,” concludes Michel Magrey. “You can compare it with Saint-Tropez, 20 % more expensive, more festive and more seasonal, Ibiza, where properties cost half the price, or even Marrakech, 70 % cheaper. As for Croatia, this trendy new address could become a serious competitor over the next five to ten years.”
By Laetitia Rossi - Photos Edith Andreotta
