▲ The coast at Eze-Sur-Mer, with Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat in the distance
A dynamic economy
The economy of the Côte d’Azur is one of France’s most dynamic. The tourism market contributes up to 18% of the region’s GDP and is the country’s second biggest after Paris. Half of all visitors are foreign and 27% come from outside Europe. Nice airport is the second largest in France, hosting more than 12 million passengers last year.
Tourism is not the only attraction of the region. The high quality of life on the Côte d’Azur is an important factor in attracting and retaining talented global workforces.
Sophia Antipolis, north of Antibes, is an internationally renowned science and technology park employing 36,000 people. To the north of Nice, the €2.5 billion ‘Eco-Vallée’ project will incorporate a new international business district, R&D facilities, retail and residential, connected by new tram and train lines.
Prime price trends – the last 10 years
The prime Côte d’Azur residential market peaked in 2008, having risen much faster than the rest of France. Activity slowed significantly after the Global Financial Crisis – more than the rest of France. The market is dominated by wealthy foreign owners so there were few forced sales, transaction levels decreased and lower values were rarely realised.
In common with other prime markets such as London and New York, asset prices in the Côte d’Azur did pick up in 2011, driven by new wealth from emerging markets, most notably Russia and the Middle East, as the region was one of those chosen by HNWIs to build their global property portfolios.
Demand began to slow after 2012 with the election of François Hollande and, after 2014, fell again due to falling commodity prices, sanctions on countries such as Russia and the stalling French economy.
The 2017 election of Emmanuel Macron seems to have marked another turning point – France’s global standing has improved and a stronger euro and eurozone economy is fuelling demand for euro-denominated assets.
Demand is returning to the Côte d’Azur, but prime stock levels are high, so it is a buyer’s market. Purchasers are seeking best-in-class properties and negotiating hard. Transaction prices for prime resale properties are typically discounted between 10% and 30% on asking price.
Although transaction data for the €10m+ market shows a fall of 40% in the average sales price since 2011, this is mainly due to some exceptionally high value sales of big properties in 2011. Average prices per square metre have remained broadly static and are close to levels observed in 2006.