Montpellier is nowadays the 8th city in France. After Nice and Marseille, Montpellier is the biggest city of the French Riviera. Is it a good place to invest in the French Riviera ? What is going on ? Your propertyfinder on the French Riviera will give you some clue about Montpellier and its potential on the French Riviera.
To begin with, Montpellier is undoubtfully one of the most dynamic cities on the French Riviera. Montpellier is well known to welcome every year many students from France and other countries. More over, Montpellier has an access to the sea with big beaches compared to Nice or Marseille. That’s why the city has decided to set up 14 town-planning projects.
Currently, there are 260000 inhabitants in Montpellier. Within 25 years, there will be 300000 inhabitants. So th city hall decided to create or to change 14 districts. This is good reason to invest in Montpellier. The objectives are clear : each district will welcome offices, accomodation and shops. Each district will be eco-friendly with very good and cheap trolley line.
The City Hall of Montpellier is obviously the main project. It will cost € 116,000,000 !
Today, your property finder on the French Riviera deals with an hotel. If you wish to invest in the French Riviera, but you don’t want to own a property on the French Riviera, I can suggest you to buy one week by year for 10 years in a hotel located on the French Riviera.
If you prefer to live in a city, if you want to be closed to an airport, to restaurants or to casinos, if you wish to have a look at the sea when you get up, if you want to be sure to have a good weather, if you are looking for a good location to enjoy French Riviera, Nice is the place to be !
Some of my clients are reluctant to invest in a property on the French Riviera but they are also fed up with hotels. I suggest them to spend a week end in a specific hotel in Nice. This hotel in Nice is very different from others. First there are only suites from 20m² to 100m². All the suites are equipped with a kitchen. The objective of this hotel is to feel at home. Each suite is composed of a bedroom, a bathroom, a linving room and a desk area. Thus, you can work and enjoy French Riviera !
On the roof there is a wonderful terrace with a seaview and a swimming pool. Continue reading ‘Invest in a luxurious hotel in Nice !’
If you plan to invest in French Riviera real estate, your property finder on the French Riviera (I mean me !) is also here to make you discover and enjoy French Riviera. If you’re looking for new and trendy spots on the French Riviera, I’m going to give you few advices. To begin with, as we are in summer, I’ll recommend the “Hi beach” in Nice.
To be honest with you, beaches in Nice aren’t the very trendy spots on the French Riviera. So, when a new beach opens in Nice, that’s an event on the French Riviera ! The “Hi beach” in Nice totally illustrates new French Riviera lifestyle. Indeed, the “Hi beach” in Nice wants to be trendy and welcoming. The “Hi beach” in Nice is very well located between the city and the sea. The “Hi beach” in Nice is open for everyone, not only the Hi hotel’s guests.
There 3 different areas in the “Hi beach” in Nice. It means 3 different ways to enjoy French Riviera. First, there is the “Hi play”. This part of the “Hi beach” in Nice is dedicated to family with children. As they want to enjoy French Riviera, there is a big playground and 3 independant family cabins. That’s ideal for family with babies and grandparents who want to enjoy French Riviera too.
The second area of the “Hi beach” in Nice is called ”Hi relax”. Continue reading ‘Enjoy French Riviera in “Hi beach” in Nice’
If you want to put the test on French Riviera real estate, I suggest to pour your money in a small flat in Nice. Indeed, a 1 bedroom or 2 bedrooms flat is a secure way to invest in Nice.
First, there are many college and business schools in Nice, so your 1 bedroom flat can be rented easily by a student. Usually students in France rent flats from October to the end of May the next year. Rents go from € 400 to € 650 per month for a 1 bedroom flat and from € 600 to € 1000 per month for a 2 bedrooms flat.
Second point and this is the very good reason why you should invest in Nice : from June to September, you can rent the flat to tourists ! Now, the rent is 4 times higher : it is from € 400 to € 650 PER WEEK for a 1 bedroom flat. So, here is a little calculation in order to convince you to invest in Nice. Let’s take a one bedroom flat, with a € 500 / month student rent : 8 months x € 500 = € 4,000. Then you add 14 weeks x € 500 = € 7,000. To sum up, by year you can earn € 11,000 and you still have 2 weeks for your own holidays on the French Riviera !
To conclude, I just want to add that you can buy a very beautiful 1 bedroom flat in Nice from € 70,000 ! I am sure you are totally convinced to invest in Nice !!
As a property finder on the French Riviera, I am used to see amazing properties. My job is to find the property of my clients’ dreams. Anyway, when I visit an outstanding property on the French Riviera, I don’t resist to describe it on my blog ! If you plan to invest in French Riviera real estate or if you just love French Riviera, you’ll appreciate this post. Why is this property in Nice outstanding ?
1- LOCATION
The outstanding property in Nice I speak about is closed to the Palais Maeterlinck. Do you know the Palais Maeterlinck ? It was a luxury hotel in Nice. The hotel closed at the end of February 2008. The hotel will be changed in flats.
Why was Palais Maeterlinck so famous ? Because of its situation on the French Riviera! The hotel is situated in a wonderful area, one of the most beautiful coastlines of the French Riviera. Indeed, the hotel is situated between St Jean Cap Ferrat and Nice city center on a road that we call “la basse corniche”. This road leds you from Nice to Monaco, throughout St Jean Cap Ferrat, Villefranche sur mer, Eze bords de mer, Beaulieu … It’s quite impossible to find properties on this area. First, the owners of these properties on the French Riviera don’t want to sell them. Opportunities for real estate are rare. Secondly, the properties are located on the seashore of the French Riviera. Nowadays, no construction is allowed on the French Riviera coastline
2- SURFACE
200m², terraces, gardens …and enough space to build a swimming pool ! Continue reading ‘An outstanding property in Nice on the French Riviera’
I often suggest to my clients, who wish to buy a property on the French Riviera, to think about renting it when they’re not in. Indeed rent a property on the French Riviera is a good investment. My clients earn money with their properties. Sometimes, when they decide to buy a property on the French Riviera, they take into account tourists’ needs.
As a matter of fact, tourism is a huge business for French Riviera. Here are some data about tourism in the French Riviera. It deals only with Alpes Maritimes (Nice, Cannes) and Monaco. Once you’ve read these data about tourism in the French Riviera, you’ll consider to invest in the French Riviera real estate !
First, French Riviera when it refers to Alpes Maritimes and Monaco, represents more than 1 000 000 inhabitants. 12% are foreigners. In 2006, more than 10 000 000 visitors come and see French Riviera. Is that a good point to invest in the French Riviera real estate ?
For leisure, tourists stay around 1 week on the French Riviera. For business, visitors stay 5 days on the average. Among all these tourists, 52% are foreigners : they are mainly coming from Italy, United Kingdom and Germany. Tourism in the French Riviera represents 10% of the global international tourism in France ! In 2005, foreigners expenditures in the French Riviera were € 5 billions !! That’s is why you should invest on the French Riviera real estate !
You’ll find following some prices about real estate on the French Riviera. I am dealing with average prices. You can find huge differences depending on the location of the property (close to the sea, downtown…). But if you are willing to invest in the French Riviera, that can give you some ideas of prices.
First of all, famous cities in the French Riviera like Villefranche sur mer or St Jean Cap Ferrat are much more expensive that others cities in the French Riviera. Real estate prices are around € 7000/m². But real estate prices had been decreasing during the whole last year. Now, they’ve been increasing but at a slow rate. The growth is much more sustained in Cannes where real estate prices are around € 5000/m². Nice is less expensive with € 4300/m².
Moreover some less famous cities in the French Riviera take advantage of their very good location : closed to bigger cities with calm and less tourists. Indeed, if you want to invest in the French Riviera, you have to know that real estate prices are high in Villeneuve Loubet (€ 5300/m²) or in Cap d’Ail (€ 6500/m²). Villeneuve Loubet is perfectly located between Cannes and Nice; Cap d’Ail is the closest city to Monaco.
As far as I am concerned, I recommend to have a look to the countryside. It appears to me as a good place to invest in the French Riviera. Cities like Opio, Roquefort les Pins are really beautiful and you can find wonderful properties as a good price ! Indeed, since the middle of 2007, real estate prices have been decreasing. I think there are some good opportunities to find there.
If you’re looking for sunny beaches, wonderful landscapes, great history and culture …French Riviera is definitely the ideal place to invest. Obviously you can find some other places in the world that offer you beautiful coastlines, good food and street markets for less money. Anyway, invest in French Riviera is safe !
French Riviera is one of the top tourist locations in the world. The economy is stable and there is no politics instability. Concerning properties, invest in French Riviera is very safe, given the rigorous buying process and protective legal system. Interest rates are still low compared to other countries even if they have been increasing since the end of 2007.
More over in some places in French Riviera, prices have been decreasing a little and locals are reluctant to invest in French Riviera or somewhere else in France. This is the good time for foreigners to invest in French Riviera, specially in big cities like Marseille, Nice or Antibes.
Given that Nice is the fifth city in France, traffic is a big issue. Cars are more and more numerous in French Riviera and it will increase by 25% until 2020. Nice city hall had to find a solution to relieve congestion in the city center. At the end of 2007, finally trolley cars entered the city. Works were very long and hard to bear for storekeepers downtown. But now the result is prodigious.
On one hand, the first trolley line reduces time between districts. For intance you can go from the north of Nice to the “Place Massena” within 14 minutes. By car, you have to drive 40 minutes and by bus it takes 30 minutes. Indeed, as parking are scarce, people stop their cars everywhere and specially on bus lines ! Trolley is the best solution because the lines are dedicated only to trolley cars and no other cars can go into. On the other hand, the city hall not only changes the streets for trolley cars but also improves streets and places on the Nice trolley run. €13,000,000 have been invested in the transformation of Nice famous place : “Place Massena”. The objective is clearly to make traffic easier dowtown and to offer bigger and nicer areas for pedestrians. Continue reading ‘Nice changes for the better’
The capital of the French Riviera is well known around the word and the real estate demand is constant. But Nice is a town with many different facets. The real estate market is very heterogeneous : the range of budgets is wide. It’s not like in Cap d’Antibes where you can’t find a house below € 1,000,000. The average price in Nice is € 4,200/m² . But prices are very different from on area to another one.
The heart of the city is much more for the locals. The wealthiest prefer the “Carré d’Or” where prices go from € 5,000/m² to € 6,500/m². Then Cimiez is a residential area when you obviously need a car. Appartments cost around € 4,250/m² and you can afford a villa for € 750,000. Most of the French people prefer the hills west of Nice. Prices go down to € 4,000/m². The lower prices are in the north of Nice with € 3,200/m².
The exponential rise in prices is due to the foreignors investors on the French Riviera. Continue reading ‘Some real estate prices in Nice’
