Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat : the exception is the rule
This little peninsula of 696 acres is just 10 minutes from both Nice and Monaco. A garden of Eden which came into being as an independent entity when it split from Villefranche-sur-Mer in 1904. Over the past century, this famous cape in the Alpes-Maritimes has become the most select address on the Côte d’Azur.
As early as 1908, the Grand Hôtel played host to a well-heeled cosmopolitan clientele. Sumptuous properties began to rise from the ground, starting with the one built by Léopold II, King of Belgium, who, little by little, bought up virtually all of the west side of the cape. At the same time, Baroness Ephrussi de Rothschild set her sights on a hilly area of about 17.3 acres overlooking the mediterranean. Today, the Villa is a well-known museum and venue for grand receptions. Illustrious personalities who have stayed in this enclave between Villefranche and Beaulieu include stars of the large and small screens, crowned heads, artists and politicians : Edith Piaf, Charlie Chaplin, Elisabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Roger Moore, Tony Curtis, Romy Schneider, General de Gaulle, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, Raymond Barre, Winston Churchill, Georges Bush, Bill Clinton, Boris Eltsine, Henri Matisse, Marc Chagall and Jean Cocteau. Cap Ferrat - from the Latin “ferrus� meaning wild, uncultivated, grassy - boasts about 500 luxurious villas, dotted beneath the palms, Aleppo pines and olive-trees. The renown of this commune with 2,100 residents extends far beyond the boundaries of France. It is often referred to as posting the country’s most expensive prices per sq. metre, at an average 44,000 € with spikes to the tune of 60,000 € (without any weighting for the grounds).* The charm of the yacht harbour lined with restaurants, bars and boutiques does not suffice to explain the popularity of Cap Ferrat. “The general opinion is that 2011 has been a satisfactory vintage. Over the past twelve months, several sales have been concluded at prices above 30 million euros. The buyers of these outstanding residences are Russian, Ukrainian or Kazakh,� says Christophe Lemieux of the Michaël Zingraf group. He goes on to describe a flat property of 9,000 m2 with a main residence of 500 m2, a house for guests and a guardians’ cottage, offering a glimpse of the Deep Blue Sea, sold at a price above the symbolic barrier mentioned above. Grounds of 5,000 m2 and more are rare and thus highly appreciated. A change in terms of demand is clearly underway : the 5-15 million euro bracket has fewer fans than in the past. A loss offset by the segment over and above 20 million euros, now subject to real scarcity. On this cape blessed by the gods, the starting price ranges from 2 to 2.5 million euros, corresponding to a house of 150-200 m2 to restore in a garden of 1,000 m2, without a sea view. It sometimes happens that potential purchasers visit all three capes in the Alpes-Maritimes. The prestigious address and proximity to Monaco, a real hub of both business and entertainment, are often cited by aficionados of Cap Ferrat. And even though properties are exclusively second residences, the fortunate owners renovate systematically, occasionally add other units to extend their domains, and have no intention of selling. Behind an acquisition motivated by personal enjoyment, there is always an underlying notion of long-term investment.
“At the top end of the market, underpinned by the rarity factor, prices are stable,� says Jean-Claude Caputo of Riviera Estates Savills. “Available properties from 3 to 10 million euros are more in evidence, with sellers wanting to recover some cash and willing to revise their prices downwards, with a maximum reduction of 20 %, in order to set the seal on the transaction.� These opportunities on the market from 3 to 10 million euros result from general concern about the future of the euro zone and its currency. On the other hand, those who bought from 2000 to 2010 are not really affected by the new capital gains legislation. Very wealthy buyers pursue their quest for excellence, convinced of acquiring assets which are real safe havens over the medium and long term. Demanding high discretion, Saint-Jean obeys very specific rules. Operations are handled between “insiders�, sometimes through companies, without much advertising. The three capes have different clienteles, topographies and environments, which explain preferences which are often deeply rooted. Cap Ferrat benefits from an aura which can’t be compared with any other, though it is more dispersed than Millionaires’ Bay or the private domain on Cap Martin. For equivalent properties the first is more expensive overall, with less disparities between the low and high end of the range. Fraught with international tensions on the economic front, 2011 will have been characterized by heightened demand for so-called premium areas - the capes and Saint-Tropez -, to the detriment of satellite sectors fashionable since 2005, such as Eze or Grimaud.
“It’s still hard to get owners to accept obligatory price corrections,� says Jean-François Dietrich of the Agence du Littoral. The change in the law on capital gains has caused a slight increase in the number of properties put up for sale. Once the deadline has been reached, some of them will probably be withdrawn from the files. In any event, supply wins out over demand. Clients looking for apartments, ready to pay from 400,000 to 2 M € last year, are suffering more from harsh economic realities. Concentrated in the village and around the harbour of Saint-Jean, apartments range from 6,000 €/m2, bringing a house split into two or more units without any particular view, to 20,000 €/m2, corresponding to a seafront apartment with impeccable appointments. Generally speaking, buyers, now aged from 30 to 45, are getting younger. Those who prefer villas mainly hail from eastern Europe, though the latter also set their sights on apartments, together with a few Italians from Milan or Turin. Since 2008, the English, suffering from a low rate of exchange, have withdrawn from the market. A house of 300 m2 in grounds of 2,000 m2 facing the Mediterranean can fetch from 10 to 12 M €. Direct access to the sea and extensive grounds affect the price exponentially. Saint-Hospice and the tip of the cape top the popularity polls. Afterwards, the choice of a particular neighbourhood on the peninsula is a matter of taste. Some like the west side, steep grounds, the panoramic views offered of the coast and Nice’s Bay of Angels ; others prefer less sloping grounds and views of the village, Beaulieu and Monaco. *Source : Wikipedia
By Laetitia Rossi
