Luxury properties in Nice
The flagships of the Côte d'Azur - Villefranche-sur-Mer, Beaulieu-sur-Mer, Eze and Roquebrune-Cap-Martin to the east, Saint-Paul-de-Vence, Antibes, Cannes and Mougins to the west - are well-known for their very desirable properties. But the business capital of the Côte d’Azur, the fifth largest city in France and the second largest in the PACA region, with 348,720 inhabitants, also has its share of prestigious addresses. Proof in pictures…
When talking about the market in Nice, accommodation for the Niçois themselves and standard requirements are uppermost in people's minds. The town does, however, boast some very select neighbourhoods and very up-market properties. The Prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes is a magnificent city, an amphitheater opening out to the Mediterranean, a jewel strung out along its beautiful “Bay of Angels”. With the second largest hotel capacity and the third largest airport in the country, it plays host to 4 million tourists per year. 12 % of its housing is dedicated to holiday homes and 9 % of its residents are of foreign nationality.
The town was originally built around the Colline du Château, occupying the area now known as the Old Town of Nice from the 14th century onwards. Older still, the left bank of the River Paillon began to see the arrival of wide streets dotted with colourful buildings inspired by Turin's urban planning, while the right bank, generously endowed following the town’s annexation by the French state in 1860, tended to adopt the Haussmann look, a trend reflected by tall frontages built of stone instead of being tinted in ochre or red. Over the decades, neighbourhoods gradually asserted their own personalities. Old Nice acquired Baroque churches, Cimiez enjoyed its moment of glory during the “Belle Epoque”, and Mont-Boron, 200 metres above sea level at its highest point, benefitted from re-forestation under the Second Empire. This hill on the far side of the port was then planted with Aleppo pines, carob and olive trees : today, it contains almost 150 acres classified as forest land. Little by little, the Promenade des Anglais became a 7-km stretch along the coast linking Port Lympia, decked out in Sardinian hues and dedicated to yachts, boats and ferries, to the airport, the city’s western boundary : it was gradually adorned with apartment blocks and luxury hotels, including the Negresco and Palais de la Méditerranée. Finally, the centre, commonly called the “Carré d’Or” or “Golden Square”, won its credentials with the pedestrian zone, built in the 1970’s, and rehabilitation of Place Masséna, at the turn of the 21st century.
“In spite of the financial crisis and a decline in prices of 5 to 10 %, Mont-Boron is still the most expensive part of Nice,” declares Benjamin Mondou of Century 21 Lafage Transactions. Since autumn 2008, the volume of transactions has dropped, yet prices are putting up resistance. Currently, supply still outstrips demand. The 2-bedroom apartment, either old or new, offering living space of 80-120 m2, with a sea view, sunshine and - the cherry on the cake - access to a pool, is the most highly sought product. Scandinavian, Russian, German and Anglo-Saxon clients, the latter now back on the scene, will pay from 800,000 to 1.3 million euros for this type of property, without batting an eyelid if they can move in straight away. Perhaps less popular, villas can be divided into three categories : small Niçois houses near Mont Alban overlooking the city’s roof-tops and costing about 800,000 €, 1930’s villas of 160 m2 in gardens of 800 m2, suffering a little from noise, from 2 to 3 million euros, and the so-called perfect property, from 3 million euros. Locals set their sights on the first category. In the second, a Polish client just paid 1.8 million euros for an Art Deco house in need of renovation but benefitting from a lovely garden and a sublime plunging view of the Mediterranean. This type of property is extremely hard to find. A Chinese buyer also recently forked out 3.1 million euros for a house of 300 m2 with all the latest amenities, in grounds of 700 m2. Within this range, potential purchasers are as rare on the ground as the properties available. 70 % of Benjamin Mondou’s clients are foreign, 30 % local, mostly professional people such as doctors and dentists, capable of investing around 1 million euros. Given that Mont-Boron enjoys an elevated position and a certain level of tranquillity, it does not compete with the Promenade des Anglais, which is popular among Italians for the stretch between the Monument aux Morts (War Memorial) and the Negresco. Wanting to be near the historic heart of Nice, the shopping centre and the beaches, they are prepared to ignore the almost constant noise and traffic, paying 7,000-10,000 €/m2 for a seafront apartment.
“Luxury is first of all a matter of location, then a question of criteria,” says Chuck McKee of the Haussmann International agency, agreeing with Benjamin Mondou’s ranking of the various neighbourhoods. “One should, however, take a look at the port, currently being restructured, and now entering its second phase of development. We are talking here about exceptions that can attain 12,000 €/m2, as on Mont-Boron or the Promenade, with a starting-price of 6,000 €/m2.” This summer, a home-owner was asking 1.5 million euros for an apartment of 130 m2 in excellent condition on the Quai des Docks, the most expensive side due to lovely sunsets and a view taking in the “pointu” fishing boats, the Colline du Château and the Bay of Angels. A buyer soon came up with the asking price : the seller withdrew, convinced that he will be able to get a better price in the coming months. Paradoxically, the address does not offer a good rental yield, unless the owner resorts to seasonal lettings. Which another owner decided to do, removing his property from the agency’s files in July. The type of person attracted by the port area is young, a fan of city life, drawn by its picture-postcard scenery, the possibility of walking to shops and amenities, and the unusual combination of an authentic neighbourhood and unbridled luxury, even given the heterogeneity of both apartments and buildings.
Furthermore, some properties deserve special attention : private mansions that buyers intend to restore, penthouses and townhouses in the lower part of Mont-Boron, on Avenue du Capitaine Scott or in the Parc Louisa, for example. On this gated and guarded estate, a renovated villa of 450 m2 in Venetian style, with a garden of 800 m2 and a pool, is worth 5,250,000 €. The penthouse in the Beau Rivage on Quai des Etats-Unis, offering living space of 285 m2 surrounded by 240 m2 of terraces, bears a price-tag of 4.7 million euros, simply because it is unequalled in terms of location, surface area and view. The market in Cimiez is different again : further from the sea, it proposes lower prices and attracts more local clients. The same is true of the town centre, in its broadest sense, unable to offer a range of products as varied and plentiful as the previous addresses. Apartments on Boulevard Victor-Hugo cost from 5,000 to 8,000 €/m2 : Place Masséna and Avenue de Verdun also boast some very exclusive enclaves.
Jean-Claude Caputo of Riviera Estates, the exclusive representative on the Riviera of the British real-estate consulting group Savills, focuses on these desirable niches throughout the Alpes-Maritimes, including the town of Nice. On the hills to the north and north-east of the city, Gairaut and Rimiez remain the favourite addresses of well-heeled Niçois clients for their main homes. A villa of 150 to 350 m2 in grounds of 500 to 5,000 m2 with pool and sea view on a gated estate is the most highly-prized target, ranging from 1 to 3 million euros, 1.3 to 1.4 million on average. Some older clients, preferring to be closer to the centre, opt for the quiet, leafy neighbourhood of Cimiez. Apartments here cost from 3,500 to 6,000 €/m2, more in the case of a top-floor with terrace or a garden apartment. Vast “Belle Epoque” buildings such as the Winter Palace, Riviera Palace, Régina and Ermitage are still highly prized. The only downsides are the rarity of terraces and their co-ownership charges, sometimes positively indecent. “Of course, people dream about the capes, but Nice is far from lagging behind. As witnessed by one of the most recent sales concluded on Mont-Boron, at 15 million euros,” points out Chuck McKee. Current urban development, reorganization of the terraces of Les Ponchettes and the public gardens on the Paillon between the MAMAC museum and the sea, should serve to reinforce the trend.
By Laetitia Rossi
