L’AGENCE PROVENSAL, AN HISTORIC ADDRESS
Eric Provensal and Claire Ferrero are the fourth generation of managers of the Agence Provensal. A backward glance at almost 135 years of history in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez...
Eric Provensal and Claire Ferrero are the fourth generation of managers of the Agence Provensal. A backward glance at almost 135 years of history in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez... The Agence Provensal came into being in 1889. It is undoubtedly one of the oldest estate agencies on the Côte d’Azur.
The adventure began in the grocery store of Claire and Eric’s great-grandmother. Real-estate activity soon became part of the business. 134 years later, the five members of its team cover the area between Sainte-Maxime, Grimaud, Le Plan-de-Latour and Les Issambres. 80 % of the agency’s transactions involve second residences or rental investments. Half of the buyers are foreigners. They are all looking for a view of the sea, a criterion that safeguards any resale. Core target prices range from 800,000 to 3 million euros.
Among the agency’s most recent transactions, Eric Provensal mentions a split-level apartment of 130 m2 on the top two floors, in perfect condition, acquired by retirees looking for practicality after selling their villa. He also mentions a house in the residential neighbourhood of Le Sémaphore in an elevated position near the town centre, offering spectacular views of the Mediterranean. It was acquired for 2 million euros by buyers from Lyon, as their second home.
The property market in Sainte-Maxime, a commune with 14,000 year-round residents, was very buoyant just a few months ago, to the point of triggering higher prices and scarce availabilities. While now seeing a certain wait-and-see attitude within a gloomy context, Eric Provensal remains optimistic given the popularity of this seaside family resort. The same goes for the seasonal rental market, which chalked up records in 2020, 2021 and 2022. This year, holidaymakers seem to be setting their sights on destinations at the far end of the world. Yet here again, it does not alarm this professional, who makes client satisfaction the cornerstone of his services.
