Nice in a Nutshell

I landed in Nice yesterday —  a business trip, pure and simple, with a search for an apartment for clients who have fallen in love with the city after being here for the first time, as well as the filming of yet another House Hunters International episode this weekend — this time in the neighboring enclave of Villefranche-sur-Mer.

Our clients also fell in love with an apartment their first day of visits (this happens often!) not far from my own apartment in the Carré d’Or neighborhood of Nice very close to the ocean. It’s a spacious two bedroom apartment in a classic 100 year-old + building with parquet floors, a balcony and very high ceilings. It has not yet been renovated in many dozens of years, nor touched by a “marchand de bien” (developer) who typically would buy up something like this, ‘whitewash’ it, plunk in a contemporary kitchen and resell it like new…although they I have found that they tend to do a pretty crummy job and the new owners have to redo/fix what they did to bring it ‘up to standard.’

Nice is full of properties like that, so finding something still oozing with charm is hard to find. Foreign buyers, such as the British, the Italians and the Russians who all love Nice, also love very contemporary decor and are known to remove the old-world charm from apartments in old buildings for which we Americans are starving. The marchands de bien know this and have no trouble selling their properties to the Europeans who prefer to move right in to something that looks like it’s from the 21st century.

Not us. We want to feel that we’re living in a place that has real roots and history. When I visited the apartment yesterday, I was thrilled with the potential. There are fireplaces in every room, large windows in every room, but too many hallways taking up space to make sense. For whatever reason, I have X-ray vision and do not see ‘walls.’ My staff joke that I am a frustrated architect and perhaps should have pursued this line of work in my youth, but never too late…as it’s a plus for our clients that I can see beyond the walls that are there to the true potential. Thanks to having no supporting walls (which are unchangeable without permission of the homeowners association), the entire layout of the apartment can be reconfigured to accommodate two more spacious bedrooms, a larger living room/dining room, an open kitchen and two bathrooms, just be making use of the hallways and a more open plan which will increase the amount of light, views and spaciousness.

Later today, we will be revisiting the apartment with a designer/decorator to add another opinion and get a relative cost to renovate the property. In Paris we have seen renovations cost between 2,500€ and 3,000€ per square meter, including all furnishings down to the linens and kitchenware. This is too rich a budget for these particular clients, so our goal is to estimate what can be done at 1,500€ to 2,000€ per square meter. Fortunately, this is where they will live full time — not rent — and that gives them some flexibility over what changes they must make now vs what can be done in the future.

Air conditioning the entire apartment is one element that must be done NOW, but changing the windows to double-paned can come later. We all know that the major expense of any renovation is in the bathrooms and kitchen, not in removing or replacing walls. Trade-offs must be made…and these are the decisions that will affect the costs, but the reality is that renovation is expensive. In this case, the price of the property is about 2,000€ to 3,000€ less per square meter than others in the same location newly renovated. So, with renovation, the property will still be undercapitalized — a real plus for the value and for our clients making the purchase.

The excellent location of the apartment makes this all a very worthwhile venture. If you were to equate the Carré d’Or to an area in Paris, it might be similar to Saint-Germain-des-Prés, as it’s the city’s most expensive and prestigious area, classic architecturally, and on the waterfront. It’s considered the city’s true center, beginning at Place Masséna running westward, with some of it “Zone Piétonne” (pedestrian) filled with the best of shopping, tons of cafés and restaurants and immediate public transportation access.

Since this is my ‘hood,’ I have only wonderful things to say about living here. Everything is literally steps away — the ocean, the tramway, shopping galore (that gets me in trouble every time), more great restaurants than one can (more trouble!) and even the car rental agencies are just nearby. Our clients are going to love, love, love living here.

More and more Americans are choosing to move to Nice and environs. Maybe that’s because the older we get, the more relaxed we want to be, with more sun and a simpler lifestyle. Paris will always be Paris and no city can replace it, but it’s never going to be accused of being ‘laid back’ or ‘sunny’ and ‘warm.’ Nice is all those things. Nice cannot offer the level of cultural activities that Paris offers, but it does offer other things, including more outdoor activities that all of the beautiful Riviera offers, of which there is immediate access. My friends who have moved there say they have taken up boating, swimming, jogging, biking painting, writing and just exploring the region, as well as traveling often to Italy — just a few minutes away by train.

The number of foreign buyers in the Alps-Maritimes region is the highest in all of France with more than 5% of all buyers. Of that, the Italians make up 38%, the British 15% and the Norther Europeans (Danish, Swedish, Norwegians) making up 12%. Americans make up 8% of the Paris foreign-buyer market, but have a very small showing in the South compared to the other nationalities.

Buying in Nice is a real advantage, with the price of real estate about one-half of what it is in Paris. Average per square meter prices depend largely on location and quality of the property — and therefore can be ‘all over the board.’ Numbeo.com  offers some basic statistics with which you can at least ‘get an idea’:

This data is based on 60 entries in the past 18 months from 11 different contributors. Last update: March, 2016
    
Price to Income Ratio:                                9.94
Mortgage as Percentage of Income:             65.31%
Loan Affordability Index:                            1.53
Price to Rent Ratio – City Centre:                33.66
Price to Rent Ratio – Outside of Centre:       25.79
Gross Rental Yield (City Centre):                2.97%
Gross Rental Yield (Outside of Centre):       3.88%

Rent Per Month                                           Average             Range

Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Center         709.55 €         600 € – 800 €
Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside of Center     587.50 €         500 € – 700 €
Apartment (3 bedrooms) in City Center         1,177.78 €         1,000 € – 1,500 €
Apartment (3 bedrooms) Outside of Center     911.11 €         800 € – 1,100 €

Buy Apartment Price                                Average             Range
Price per Square Meter
to Buy Apartment in City Center            5,027.67 €         4,000 € – 6,000 €
Price per Square Meter
to Buy Apartment Outside of Center      3,100 € €         3,000 € – 3,300 €

Salaries And Financing                         Average             Range
Average Monthly Disposable Salary
(Net After Tax)                                      2,044.44 €         1,500 € – 2,500 €
Mortgage Interest Rate in Percentages (%),
Yearly                                                   2.86%                 2.50% – 3.30%

If you are wavering between a “pied-à-terre” in Paris or Nice, we can help you make this decision. I have first-hand experience with both and can provide you with everything you need to know to decide what’s best for you.

Stay tuned for our report next week on our exploration of Villefranche-sur-Mer!

A bientôt,

Adrian Leeds
Editor, French Property Insider

(in Nice)

Email: [email protected]

 

 

 

 

 

P.S. NICE IS NICE AT A SPECIAL BARGAIN…IF YOU BOOK BEFORE THE END OF APRIL!

Nice is nice and Le Matisse is even nicer! Le Matisse is Adrian Leeds’ luxurious, and sunny jewel in the Carré d’Or area of Nice just two short blocks from the ocean in the city’s finest central district just off Place Masséna! Everyone who has ever stayed there has loved it more than they expected! Now is your chance to book your stay for your summer vacation between June 1 and August 31st before April 30th and take advantage of mid-season rates during the apartment’s highest season!

185/night
1165/week
3022/month (4 weeks)

To book a Paris apartment for a visit in the City of Light on your way to Nice, visit The Adrian Leeds Group Apartments to view our full selection.