City life: Ideal for holidays and investment

When times are tough, the safest property purchases are in locations where there is a high demand. Apart from exclusive or unique positions, such as seafront or ski-in, ski-out properties, the most concentrated areas of demand are in the major towns and cities where need for housing is high due to the availability of work as well as accessibility to shops, restaurants, entertainment and health and educational facilities.

Once again I mention the estate agent’s best advice – the three most important points when buying a property are position, position and position. And the best positions in a town or city will always be in demand so they make for a secure investment with great potential for capital gain over time.

When buying from the UK you may be looking to purchase something you can rent out all the time as a pure investment, or perhaps a property you can use occasionally and rent out for the rest of the time. If the latter, there are several cities that would be ideal, not only because there is a high demand for rental properties but also because they offer activities and interest within the city as well as the surrounding areas.

Go west

Take Bordeaux, for example. It boasts direct flights from several UK locations, plus Bergerac airport is not too far away, and there’s also the choice of travelling by TGV or a day’s drive from the UK. It offers everything cities normally have plus it is set in the Bordeaux wine region, surrounded by vineyards of several appellations as well as lovely towns and villages such as St Emilion and Pauillac.

It also has the added bonus of being close to the sea and the Gironde river, making it an ideal location for those who love wine, the countryside and the sea, and are looking for a place to spend their holidays.

Bordeaux is a university town so an apartment could easily be let during term-time, leaving it free for use during the holidays. Alternatively, you could keep it for your own use as there are many reasons to visit and enjoy the area at all times of year. Or just let it to friends and family or to those looking for holiday accommodation for a week or two when you are not using it.

There has been a great deal of investment in the town in the past few years, including a new tram system, making it even more attractive. Prices have not yet risen too high, offering greater potential for capital gain.

The south part one

Another city that has been invested in is the capital of Languedoc-Roussillon, Montpellier. It is continually growing as the demand for living accommodation increases due to major multi-national companies setting up there. In the region generally, population is growing, so prices will move upwards with demand.

Montpellier is just a few minutes from the sandy Languedoc beaches and the wilder Camargue, and once again it is surrounded by vineyards. Although the local wine does not have the same cachet of Bordeaux, it is becoming increasingly popular and the vineyards make for interesting days out.

Montpellier airport is accessible from the UK, as is Nîmes airport, around 30 minutes away. Montpellier is under three hours’ drive from Cannes and the Côte d’Azur and just over an hour to Vaucluse and Bouches du Rhône.

The south part two

Marseille is another city that deserves interest – again there has been a great deal of investment to improve the city and its facilities. The beautiful old port, sophisticated shopping areas and its proximity to the sea, including the beach at Cassis, make it a sought-after location. Being within easy reach of Aix en Provence, Avignon, the lovely bastide villages of the Luberon, the vineyards of Provence and a short ferry ride to the Ile de Porquerolles from the nearby town of Hyères, Marseille offers the opportunity of city life with beach access, with some of France’s most dramatic rural scenery inland.

The south part three

Nice, on the Côte d’Azur, is one of France’s largest French cities, with its second busiest airport, serving around 20 daily flights from the UK. It is an ideal place for a holiday home being close to the beaches and resorts of the Riviera with their many wonderful restaurants and superb shops. It is also within an hour of Italy, giving it an extra dimension of interest, as well as being just over an hour to several ski resorts. It’s an ideal town for a pied-à-terre as there are year-round events and reasons to visit, from skiing, to the flower festival and carnivals to the beaches, music festivals and museums.

If you are looking to rent it out part of the time, you have a wide choice of options. Nice is extremely cosmopolitan, with a high demand for all types of properties. A university town, it also has several private colleges, so there is the possibility of term-time rentals as well as holiday lets. There is also a strong demand for full-time rental and if you are looking for a pure investment, Nice still has some reasonably priced properties, giving reliable rental returns. Prices are likely to increase over the next few years as the town continues to grow.

Capital gains

Although Paris may immediately spring to mind when thinking of purchasing in a French city, it perhaps doesn’t have as much to offer as the four cities I have mentioned. There is no doubt that it is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, but its climate is not as temperate as the UK (it can be very cold in winter and very hot in summer).

Although there are rural areas once you leave Paris and its suburbs, there are no vineyards or beaches within striking distance. Because it is the capital, demand and therefore prices have always been high, unlike some cities where prices still have the potential to climb further. The flight time to Paris is only an hour, but it is less than two hours to the other cities, so the travel time difference by air is not so great. However, at under 2½ hours, the TGV journey from London is a great attraction.

In any city there are good and not so good areas, translating into expensive and not so expensive properties. The best plan is to buy in an up-andcoming district, which is close to the ‘good areas’ but has not yet reached its potential. These areas may be on the up due to government investment in the surroundings, the transport system or perhaps the arrival of multi-national companies offering work. Different districts offer different types of lifestyle so some will appeal to you more than others. It is a good idea to view properties in a few areas of the city you choose and take advice from agents as to what would suit your budget and lifestyle best.

Other options

You might also want to consider large towns which offer city life but on a smaller scale, such as Toulouse, Aix en Provence or Nîmes, all of which have their own special character. It is a good idea to choose a university town as the presence of students keeps the town lively and offers good facilities as well as being ideal if you intend to let out your property at all.

If letting part-time is your intention, check out events in the town which might bring in possible business. Cannes on the Côte d’Azur, for instance, has so many conferences and seminars, as well as larger events such as the Cannes film festival, which bring thousands of people into the town who need accommodation, pushing rental prices up extortionately.

To sum up, when buying a second home in a city, it is a good idea to choose one that has plenty of amenities, places of interest and surrounding areas offering the possibility of enjoyable days out, and take into account ease of travel from your main home. If you are looking to rent out the property for part of the time, make sure there is a demand for short-term rentals locally or if you’ll have enough interest from friends and family. If you plan to rent it out fulltime, you need to look at areas of the city that are close to offices and places of work.

by, Penny Zoldan is managing director of Latitudes French Property Agents Tel: 020 8951 5155

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