NEED TO KNOW
Prices on the Côte d' Azur
As a very rough guide, for a good house, expect to pay from
Côte d' Azur hinterland (from St Paul de Vence to Valbonne) €2.5m± €10m
Cap Ferrat €20m, on average Cap d' Antibes €15m, on average
Saint-Tropez, Ramatuelle or Gassin
€5m± €8m
Le Rayol, Le Lavandou and Bormes-
la-Mimosa €2mÐ €8m
Golden triangle villages €1.2m± €6m
anywhere else on Earth,' declares Karine Breuer of the Emile Garcin agency. ` From July 15 to 31, the entire world comes to be seen in Saint-Tropez.' For those who want to check in perma- nently, the price is steep. ` On the Saint-
Tropez peninsula, you can' t pay less than €5 million for properties with a view,' Miss Breuer says. Prices began to rise with the advent of the Euro in 2000, when the French began to sell and English buyers accounted for four out of 10 clients, she explains. ` The absolute top is Saint-Tropez, Ramatuelle or Gassin, with a whacking sea view and complete privacy,' contends Hugo Skillington, Knight Frank' s associate
www.countrylife.co.uk/international
FOR SALE
€6.9m
Cap Ferrat
In a place where prices sometimes soar into ` telephone number' figures, Tim Sanders offers this four-bedroom house in perfect condition on the
east side of the beautiful Cap Ferrat. ` It' s very good value for money' John Taylor
(00 33 4 9332 8340;
www.john-taylor.com)
in Grimaud. ` About €7 million to €8 million gets you a very nice house, and then the sky' s the limit. There are properties on the market for €100 million, but none have been sold at that price that I know of. The top [public] price achieved last year was €37 million.' He also warns: ` There are a lot of substantial houses between €10 million and €30 million, most of which are probably 10%± 20% overpriced.'
` Golden triangle' hill villages
The traditional Saint-Tropez alternative is to opt for the ` golden triangle' of Var hill villages: Grimaud, La Garde Freinet and Plan de La Tour. Although the Côte d' Azur hinterlands attract full-time English resi- dents, the hills behind Saint-Tropez appeal to those who appreciate the peace, tran- quillity and lower prices of this area, but also want the proximity to click into the Tropézienne summer action. Closest to the sea, Grimaud has long been
a popular chic, but cheaper, choice for English buyers. ` The same house that goes
for €10 million in Saint-Tropez will be only €5 million± €6 million in Grimaud, and have
an even better view,' Miss Breuer reports. And Mr Skillington confirms: ` You can get
a nice, modest house with a pool for €1.2 million, a substantial five-bedroom house with garden and view for €4 million
Ð €5 million, or a lovely compact estate for €11.4 million.' If people once bought here for
price, now they are buying for privacyÐ which is even greater in La Garde Freinet and Plan de La Tour. Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis have an estate in the nearby country- side. `A hugely fashionable couple are lead- ing a quiet existence in their little hamlet not pestered by the paparazzi,' he says. For the über A-list, distance equals dis-
cretion. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie retreat to a vast wine-producing property in the Haut Var north of Brignoles; David and Victoria Beckham bought a fairytale estate well off the beaten path north of Draguig- nan. It' s a trend. ` In the first quarter of last year, when the world had just fallen apart, we sold two enormous properties to Eng- lish clients: one in our golden triangle, the other in Seillans. We are going further afield for big properties that we can sell well,' confirms Mr Skillington.
Country Life International, Summer 2010 49
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