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Secondary residence by the sea: The Var, the Alpes-Maritimes and Calvados are popular

What are the 3 departments most popular with the French when looking for a second home by the sea? The point with a study by SeLoger.



Secondary residence: the Var at the top of the search

Since the health crisis, second homes, especially by the sea, have once again been on the rise. Last June, when asked where they plan to focus their real estate search, 37% of people planning to buy a second home answered the South-East. The North-West followed (27% of purchase intentions) and finally the South-West (14%). But the intention is not worth the action…

SeLoger therefore compared the purchase intentions expressed by the people questioned with the searches of Internet users looking for a second home. However, it appears from the study that in the ranking of the most searched departments, it is the Var which climbs to the highest step of the podium with 16.6% of research shares. On average, the property price in the Var is €3,961/m². In second and third place are Alpes-Maritimes (12.2% search share) and Calvados (8.4% search share).

All other things being equal, the 3 departments with the lowest share of searches are:

  • The North: 0.2%
  • Gard: 0.9%
  • Aude: 1.1%

Cannes: The most popular city in the Alpes-Maritimes

If the study tells us that it is on the Var that the largest share of research is concentrated, it also tells us that in this department, it is the commune of Saint-Raphaël which occupies pole position (12.7 % of searches / 44.1% of second homes). Next come the Var towns of Hyères (10.7% share of searches / 25.5% of second homes) and Fréjus (10.5% share of searches / 38.8% of second homes).

The list of the most popular seaside resorts continues, for the Alpes-Maritimes department, with Cannes (26.1% share of searches / 43.5% of second homes), Antibes (21.8% share of searches / 34.7% second homes) and Menton (15.1% share of searches / 44.4% second homes).

« Cannes, Super-Cannes and Le Cannet, a “bobo” district where a village atmosphere reigns, far from the effervescence and splendor of Cannes, are highly sought after for second homes, note Angie Delattre, from the agency Michaël Zingraf Real Estate Cannes Croisette. There is also an attraction for the hinterland where customers are looking for larger land and more tranquility. This may also coincide with our growing property portfolio in this area. Finally, our customers are more looking for charming houses with noble materials, which age well, bastides or Provençal styles, completely renovated and combining the charm of the old with the comfort of the modern. California style villas are still in demand but there has been a slight change in trend for 6-8 months ».

Finally, Villers-sur-Mer (17.5% share of searches / 83.8% of second homes), Cabourg (15.1% share of searches / 79.6% of second homes) and Trouville-sur- Mer (14% share of searches / 66.2% of second homes) form the top three Calvados seaside resorts most popular with Internet users wishing to buy a second home.

By the sea, the price of old real estate increases by:

  • 11.1% over 1 year.
  • 24.5% over 2 years.

Resort: Parisians swear by Calvados!

Reading the results of the study we conducted, we see that Parisians who want to buy a second home mainly target (for 14.4% ** of them) Calvados. As for the winning trio of seaside resorts whose advertisements were – within this department – ​​the most massively consulted, it consists of Trouville-sur-Mer (17%), Villers-sur-Mer (16.5%) and – the essential – Deauville (16.4%). While Parisians favor Calvados to buy their second home there, they do not disdain the Var (12.5% ​​of searches) or the Alpes-Maritimes (10.8%).

« In Cannes, our clientele is between 40 and 65 years old. It is mainly from Northern Europe and France but we hope for a return of the Americans with the euro/dollar parity”, observes Angie Delattre who adds that “on the Côte d’Azur, the term main secondary residence has taken hold. The secondary residence becomes the main residence for several months during the year. The youngest customers buy a second home which becomes a main residence in the longer term: it’s a comfortable purchase. ».

What are the most sought-after coastal departments?

  • Provenance – Dept./search rate
  • Marseille – Var (38.6%)
  • Lyon – Yes (31.6 %)
  • Nice                –      Alpes-Maritimes (70,4 %)
  • Toulouse – Charente-Maritime (13%)
  • Bordeaux–Gironde (22.7%)
  • Montpellier–Herault (40.3%)
  • Nantes–Loire-Atlantique (41.7%)
  • Lille–Pas-de-Calais (20.9%)
  • Strasbourg – Var (24.6%)

To note : 51% of plans to buy a second home relate to a house, 23% relate to an apartment and 26% will decide according to the opportunity .

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