Where to find a property for sale in Provence-Alpes-Cote-d'Azur
ACA, or Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur, has historically been the most popular region in France for international investors. It includes famous historic towns like Avignon and Aix-en-Provence, but also the glitzy summer playgrounds of Saint Tropez, Cannes and Nice, and the national parks at Luberon and the Camargue. There are six departments, and property varies enormously by location – usually proximity to the Med - and the average price across them is higher than the regions mentioned above.
Property website Meilleursagents estimates that prices in PACA have risen by 4.9% over 2022 and by 18.2% over a five-year period. The estimated total housing stock in PACA is around 2.5m properties, with around 430,000 of these being holiday homes.
House prices on the Côte d’Azur are reaching record highs, with demand particularly strong along the coast. The online listing site SeLoger estimates that “you will pay a 34% premium for a property with a view out over the Mediterranean.
Provence
The Bouches-du-Rhone covers many of the popular parts of Provence, whether the landscape of Cezanne around Aix and Arles, or the vibrant cosmopolitan city of Marseille, that has been reinventing itself (Sir Norman Foster designed a fabulously striking events pavilion on the seafront at the old port). You can buy a centrally located three-bed apartment in Marseille for around €350,000, although the coastline towards the Calanques is also worth investigating, with 20km of steep canyons and gorges towards the beautiful town of Cassis.
Property prices in the quintessential Provencal villages – locals chatting around the petanque pitches shaded by plane trees in little squares – vary hugely according to how fashionable they are with overseas buyers. Around Aix-en-Provence, chic StRemy de Provence and Avignon prices are high (a restored farmhouse in Aix may be over €1 million), but you can get a stone mas farmhouse for €450,000 to €700,000 in less popular areas. This area is also popular with relocating families due to the presence of some good international schools.
To the north the Alpilles spread into the Vaucluse and include the Luberon– a land of honey-coloured farmhouses, olive groves and fields of lavender made famous by Peter Mayle’s bestselling books – and bastide towns such as Gordes are much-loved. Buyers here are after authenticity and it’s the old stone Mas that are most popular amongst rural homes. Also popular is property in national parks such as the Parc naturel régional de Luberon, the Parc naturel régional du Mont-Ventoux and the Parc national des Cévennes. One up and coming area is the approach to the Cevennes, north and west of Uzès – the charming villages give the feel of traditional Provence. The Drôme and the Ardèche join the north-west tip of PACA and property in both departments can also offer excellent value for money.
The Var
From the Verdun gorges of the Haut-Var, to an interior of vineyards and pine forests to St Tropez and Port Grimaudon the Cote d’Azur, the Var is a diverse and desirable department. It will come as no surprise that they are especially high on the coast at St Tropez, Ste Maxime and Ste Raphael. Prime St Tropez averages an eye-watering €26,000 per sq metre – and in 2023 the municipality is considering increasing the tax on second homes to fund some affordable housing for locals who are unable to live there.
Cote d’Azur
Cannes is very popular for rental investments, with the various festivals held there, whilst Nice has been reinventing itself as a dynamic business hub and relocation destination. Nice may not have been top of most people’s wish-lists if they are seeking a holiday home on the Cote d’Azur. Regarded as rather a workaday city bypassed by the millions arriving at France’s second busiest airport each year, it lacked the glamour of Saint-Tropez, and the cachet of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat.
Recent improvements and an increase in buyers looking for a year-round cultural buzz have seen it swing back in vogue, with the formerly grotty port area behind the harbour, with its fishing boats alongside the superyachts, now a fashionable hub of speciality food shops, hipster bars and street food like Paris’s Le Marais. The most sought-after areas are the port, Carre D’Or (the heart of the city around the Negresco hotel), and the cobbled streets of the Old Town. Cimiez is an upmarket area popular with French families and Riqueir -behind the port – is one to watch. Inland, Mougins, Grasse and Venceare pretty desirable locations too, and much more popular with international buyers than the ski resorts 90 minutes and more north – of which Isola 2000 and Valberg where the population thins out.
