Grimaud and Sainte-Maxime, the Var in all its diversity
A medieval village, a private domain and a “lagoon city”… The first offers at least three different facets. Elegant but also family-oriented, the second offers a discreet and more affordable alternative to Saint-Tropez. Spotlight on two communes around the gulf, proposing a choice of seafront charm and a rural atmosphere…
Whenever one mentions Grimaud with its 4,250 residents, one has to draw a distinction between the medieval village set inland from the coast, Beauvallon, its seafront, and Port-Grimaud, the colourful “cité lacustre” - 12 km of quaysides, parks and landscaped gardens built as from 1966 on plans designed by architect François Spoerry. Sainte-Maxime is a town in its own right, with a good array of shops and amenities. 13,750 people live here year-round, 60,000 arrive in summer. Benefitting from 300 days of sunshine a year, it boasts a coastline 11 km long, lapped by the Mediterranean and dotted with many beaches : La Croisette, Guerrevieille and La Madrague to the west, La Nartelle and La Garonnette to the east. Sheltered from strong winds by the Massif des Maures, Sainte-Maxime looks across the sea to Saint-Tropez. Rising to 127 metres above sea level, the neighbourhood of Le Sémaphore offers a magnificent view of the gulf, the undulating Var countryside and the coastal strip from the capes of Sardineau to Saint-Pierre. The town fiercely defends its authentic character, as witnessed by its houses with tiled roofs and its market with all the fragrance of Provence. In the high season, the municipality organizes about 40 shows and concerts.
“The village of Grimaud attracts a clientele fond of France and often French-speaking, appreciative of old stones and a certain charm, wanting to melt into the local population and falling in with its rhythms and traditions,” says Céline Delbergue of the Chesterton agency. Recently, one such client paid 550,000 € for living space of 100 m2 in the historic centre, extended by terraces and overlooking the surrounding countryside. A Templar building of 230 m2 in all, crowned by a sun-roof of 60 m2 surveying the hills and Bay of Pampelonne, is currently on offer at close on 1 million euros. Foreign buyers don’t mind doing up properties, though they now shy away from those in need of total restoration. Beauvallon is a micro-market focusing on services and golf. Les Parcs are particularly well-versed in the subject. In addition to giving easy access to the greens, the estate offers tennis courts and property management, ranging from close surveillance to garden maintenance. Charges are high, though they offer residents the advantage of not having to deal with any stewardship headaches. Prices here start at around 1.5 million euros - the sum required for four bedrooms in good condition, in grounds of 1,600-2,000 m2. Rising up to Beauvallon-Bartole, prices also climb as soon as the lie of the land provides plunging views of the gulf, sometimes attaining 3-4 million euros. In Port-Grimaud, prices depend on the surface area, the location within the “lagoon city” and the size of the boat mooring. Sailing enthusiasts from all over the world prefer the southern part, known as “Grimaud II”, near the beach and less invaded by tourists. It’s hard to find moorings of 25 metres and more, though they are in high demand.
“Villas of 300 m2 in attractive mature grounds of 3,000 m2 in Beauvallon range from 3.5 to 6 million euros,” says Jean-Marc Blatgé of the Cabinet Blatgé - Agence Guerrevieille. “A property of 100 m2 in excellent condition with a swimming pool and 10-metre mooring in Port Grimaud fetches 1.7 million euros, a price likely to rise if the house can claim a special kind of layout, a corner position, for example. New apartments in the centre of Sainte-Maxime are pegged from 6,000 to 10,000 €/m2. Recently, a top-floor example of 100 m2, modernized in loft style, found a taker at 1 million euros. Seniors looking for convenience and comfort search here for luxury residences characterized by vast terraces and panoramic views of the sea.” Clearly, developers have not yet incorporated this trend into their offerings. With the exception, perhaps, of the Groupe Maison Blanche which is currently marketing “Villa Maxima”, nine apartments including two penthouses, between 1.4 and 2.6 million euros, almost half of which have already sold. Le Sémaphore and La Nartelle then win a lot of votes, probably due to their sublime sea views. A “bastide” of 600 m2 set in a park of 6,000 m2 is here worth over 5 million euros, a threshold rarely exceeded in this part of the gulf. The countryside around Grimaud, a very pleasant area, also has its fans, ready to spend, for example, 2.5 million euros on an 18th-C. hunting lodge of 500 m2 in grounds of 5,000 m2. Potential purchasers hail from the Benelux, Germany, Scandinavian countries and even Russia. Close on 50 % are, however, still French.
“Enthusiasm for properties at the water’s edge continues to grow, in both Sainte-Maxime and on the commune of Grimaud. Many buyers in fact want to get away from traffic-jams in Saint-Tropez, especially as shuttle boats make regular trips back and forth to this lively destination,” adds Sonia Kovac of Waterfront Property, the specialist in the field for the Alpes-Maritimes and the Var. Among such properties available, she mentions a restored villa of 220 m2, opening out to a garden of 1,500 m2, a swimming pool and sandy beach, at 3.5 million euros ; a property of 280 m2 which needs freshening up, also in Sainte-Maxime, with grounds of 2,000 m2, pool and boat hangar, at 4.2 million euros ; and a villa of 180 m2 in grounds of 2000 m2, pegged at 4 million euros because it offers the possibility of two further bedrooms and a pool. On the commune of Grimaud, a beautiful 1920’s residence of approx. 300 m2, in a garden of 2,400 m2 surrounded by sand, is priced around 10 million euros. The crisis has led to lower prices, but has failed to stem demand for properties enjoying direct access to the Deep Blue Sea, to the taste of clients from Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Holland. Who still, however, rub shoulders with 50 % of French buyers, young retirees reaping the benefits after recently selling their firms. One of the great strengths of this address lies in its considerable price difference as compared with Saint-Tropez, despite the short distance between them. To acquire an equivalent property in the adopted home of Brigitte Bardot, one would have to pay double or triple the price. A sign of its success, the agency’s website draws about a hundred viewings a week, leading to an average ten contacts.
“If, all sectors and properties combined, demand retreated in 2009 and 2010, as did prices for standard homes, which logically fell by 10-20 %, the conclusion rate for visits is improving. Little affected by crises, rare products find takers, especially when the property is correctly valued, unless it has a major, insurmountable defect. Everyone is looking for a sound investment, whose price correlates to its quality. When we succeed in fully satisfying client expectations, transactions go through without any difficulty,” conclude our estate-agents.
By Laetitia Rossi
