It sold 10% more in one year: houses are snapped up in the department. A growing demand which caused pressure on prices. They increased by 5% at the same time. The west of the Tarn is particularly sought after.
An air of gold rush. But this gold takes the form of a rectangle, with four walls, a roof and a little greenery. For several months, the Tarn has seen the arrival of many buyers looking for houses. The individual pavilion, recent or older, with a large or more modest garden, is the new precious asset that all French people (and even foreigners) are snapping up. The trend, present for several years, has increased with the health crisis. The volume of house sales increased by 10% in the Tarn between June 2020 and June 2021. The median prices, for their part, have logically suffered from overheating: +5% in one year. Scarred by several confinements and curfews, the French are looking at all costs for comfortable accommodation where it is possible to live 365 days a year. The development of the practice of teleworking has facilitated the arrival of city dwellers in the department. “It’s a reality, notes Me Antoine Fabre, departmental delegate of the Chamber of Notaries. The acceleration of teleworking is asserting itself. There is a desire among buyers to have a certain comfort. They prefer to live in a house in the country than in a small apartment opposite. People wear themselves out in these lives.”
Progress almost everywhere
Individuals also wanted to secure their capital. It is better to place your savings in stone, which will not collapse in another stock market crisis, than in bank accounts or financial assets subject to fluctuation. The stone as a safe haven: the trend is not new but regains importance with the occurrence of each new crisis, each new upheaval. Rates that were still as low as ever did the rest: the French got heavily into debt, over very long periods, and real estate benefited.
Of course, all areas of the department are not to be placed in the same boat. Already particularly sought after, the west of the Tarn, the closest to the Toulouse metropolis and its employment pool, which sees many inhabitants make the journey every morning and every evening, has seen its prices soar even more: the median price in the Saint-Sulpice / Rabastens sector now stands at €234,000, up 17% (!) over 12 months. These prices make it even more of a suburb of Toulouse. Not far from there, the Gaillac / L’Isle-sur-Tarn sector has increased by 13% in one year, posting a median price of €185,000.
Even the apartments
Other sectors have also benefited from the enthusiasm for rural areas, but have also been able to surf on specific characteristics. This is particularly the case for the areas located along the future motorway that will link the Ville Rose to Castres. The distance in kilometers from Toulouse will remain the same, but travel times, and above all driving comfort, will be considerably improved. Many households have therefore set their sights on this area. The prices are a vivid witness to this. In Castres, the median price of a house now stands at €150,000, up 11% over one year. A little closer to the Toulouse metropolis, Puylaurens posted a 15% increase, the second highest in the entire department, and the median price was €175,000.
Most sectors are progressing in the Tarn. Only a few, the most rural, saw their median price decline last year. This is particularly the case of Alban and its surroundings (-11%) and Réalmont / Graulhet (-7.5%).
Apartments are not the most popular properties in the department, but they have also had their share of success. “With a two-digit increase of +12.2%, apartment prices are taking off quite spectacularly, notes Me Antoine Fabre. The median price per m2 in the department rises to €1,670 (€1,530 previously).”
This is a trend that is confirmed: with a capital whose episcopal city is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a department with many facets, the Tarn is becoming a serious stronghold of Occitania behind the locomotives Haute-Garonne and Hérault. Attracting inhabitants of Occitania but also public from elsewhere. “The profile of the stakeholders does not change: at 28% it is the intermediate professions who become owners, notes Me Antoine Fabre. age 30/39 is still the most represented with 25% of transactions.” ■
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