Cap d’Antibes, a blue-chip investment
Even though the international scene is not exactly encouraging, prime addresses on the Côte d’Azur still act as magnets on those who can afford to combine personal enjoyment with rock-solid investments. By Laetitia Rossi
Cap d’Antibes embarked on a new vocation in the mid-19th century when the British and Russians began to build beautiful villas here. Today, the 2.7 km of the coastal path between the Mediterranean and the high walls of the Château de la Croë and Château de la Garoupe give a clear glimpse of the kind of clients traditionally drawn to this illustrious cape. Less than 1,500 people live year-round in its southern part, from the harbour of Le Croûton to that of La Salis. The wooded peninsula of 3.7 sqm. is one of the least densely populated areas in the département of the Alpes-Maritimes. It seems to hold a monopoly on luxuriant vegetation, as demonstrated by the Villa Thuret, Château de la Croë, Domaine de La Garoupe and the villas Le Clocher, Sous Le Vent and Eilenroc.
“There has always been a special atmosphere on Cap d’Antibes, a privileged atmosphere, an impression of unending holidays, which the shop-keepers help to maintain,” say Martine Lemoine and Daniel Levant of Michaël Zingraf Christie’s. Residents enjoy a high-quality life-style on an everyday basis. They are all fond of a certain authenticity, the best example being the harbour of Le Croûton, still home to a few “pointu” fishing boats. Over the past 12 months, real-estate activity has covered a very wide price bracket, from 1 million euros - bringing a 2-bedroom apartment of 70 m2 in a new residence or a small house of 110 m2 to renovate and extend, with a garden of 1,000 m2 not far from the beach - to 15 million euros - the budget required for a fully restored property of at least 400 m2 in grounds of over 2,000 m2 in a particularly enviable location with panoramic sea view. Beyond the pleasure of acquiring a holiday home, East and North Europeans, together with a 15 % share of French clients, see the property market on the cape as a safe investment. In times of crisis, they consistently focus on prime addresses.
“The first half of 2013 was quiet, though activity picked up in the last three months of the year, when we saw quite a few visits,” comments Jörg Buchen of Engel & Völkers. One of his most recent sales was a villa of 500 m2 in good condition, in grounds of 3,000 m2 with sea view, acquired by a Polish buyer for 8 million euros. Clients prefer turnkey properties to those requiring restoration. Buyers targetting the 5 to 12 million euro bracket are dead set on Cap d’Antibes. Those with budgets of 3 to 6 million also visit properties in Cannes. As for clients prepared to invest over 30 million euros, they compare the three capes in the Alpes-Maritimes.
“There’s no lack of buyers ready to spend 3 to 7 million euros on a villa with four suites in flat grounds on Cap d’Antibes. The problem lies more in the scarcity of this type of property,” says Aurélien Monnier of L’Agence du Cap d’Antibes, based on the peninsula for 20 years. For sellers, rarely needing to proceed with any urgency, the current tax situation is dissuasive, and the prospects of investing the proceeds of a sale in a bank account far from enticing. Many of them are postponing their plans to sell. The few owners who do put up their properties for sale naturally overvalue them, making the gap even wider between supply and demand. Seasonal rentals, which are nevertheless steady, obey the same principles. A house with three/four bedrooms, a pool and panoramic sea view can be rented from 5,000 to 10,000 € per week in summer. While interest on the part of North and East Europeans is clear to see, the array of available properties is extremely limited. The various attributes offered by Cap d’Antibes guarantee its future, but new incentives are required to restore a flow of activity on its property market.
