Art galleries, good restaurants, Provencal architecture and luxurious villas ... All of this can be found in the French city of Mougins. This luxury town near Cannes rightly deserves its name "Garden City". Settlement with a long history, located just six kilometers from the Mediterranean, arranged in a spiral way, which no doubt has a special charm.
This small town can be reached by the A8 "La Provençale", as well as on an airplane. Mougins is a 20-minute drive from the airport "Riviera" of the city of Nice. Besides the fact that there are permanent residents - 19,000 people, Mougins also welcomes almost 20% of the technology park of Sophia Antipolis population, that is to the north-west of Antibes.
Infographics ee24.com. Real estate in Mougins: how expensive are the houses and apartments?
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Mougins greenery nestled in the east (Parque de la Valmasque) and in the west (scenic areas of Tournamy and Le Val de Mougins). Houses here are mostly low and private, and construction was carried out not at the expense of nature. Luxury and prestige are the watchwords "of arts and crafts" (Fr. "Ville et Métiers d'Art"). In 2008 the Challenge magazine named the locality, in which very good hospitals and schools work, an illustrative city.
"The real estate market in Mougins is quiet and the owners are beginning to realize that so little demand will make them to moderate appetites," - says Denis Desartine of the Cote d'Azur Sotheby's International Realty.
The market of year-round residences actually feels better than the market of vacation homes. Most prices range from €800,000 and above. This sum is required to purchase a home area of 150-200 square meters, which is in need of repair, with a plot of 1,000-1,200 sq.m. Over €1,5 mn can buy a house of 250 sqm in excellent condition with a plot of 2000 sqm in a quiet area of Mougins. Among French customers there often are the future retirees wishing to age under the warm rays of the sun, as well as Eastern Europeans who came here with their families. They are attracted by the safety and pleasant environment - for this they pay €2-4 million for the house and send their kids to school in Mougins, or in the technology park of Sophia Antipolis.
"While the UK customers are almost gone, the Scandinavians, especially Norwegians are showing great interest in this place. They are willing to buy items in different price categories: homes from €600,000 to €2,000,000, apartments from €400,000 to €800,000 "- says Guy Thill of the company Azur Contact Immobilier.
Depending on the location, the view from the window, and other conditions that the owner sets the price per square meter of housing in Mougins ranges from €3,000 to €8,000. A wide variety of real estate explains variation in prices. Neighbourhoods such as Les Parcs de Mougins, Chemin des Collés, Chemin de Pigranel and Allée du Redon are the most in demand by foreign investors, while the neighborhood Tournamy is dwelled by the local workers. The old village - is, of course, the market for the few. The house of 150 sqm with garden and panoramic views of the bay of Cannes, located on the edge of the village, found a new owner for €800,000 in 2000 and was sold five years later for €2 million.
Golf courses are still attractive. For example, real estate in la Peyrière, not far from the golf club Golf Country Club de Cannes Mougins, costs from €800,000 to €2,5 million.
In our difficult times prospective buyers make bold and insanely generous offers, despite the advice of real estate agents, thereby contributing to the current impasse. It is time to reduce the cost of housing in Mougins at several positions, but no one talks about a collapse in prices. "The task of a real estate agent is to find common ground between the asking price, which is often too high, and demand from customers who want to bargain," - commented Fabienne Cursaz of the company L'Agence Les Pierres.
People working in the technology park of Sophia Antipolis, are looking for homes with three or four bedrooms priced from €600,000 to €800,000. But the owners are not ready to accept such terms. Market activity is reduced for this reason, even if the demand is constant. Despite the noise from the highway, Mougins, according to popular opinion, is associated with a high quality of life and with high property prices that scare away potential buyers.
"Sellers have to accept the idea of continued support from the real estate agency - adds Fabien Körsi. - Always risky to have too much contact and too many links. Several weeks of total, daily advertising and, ultimately, the property will drop in price a bit."
History. Mougins is first mentioned in the XI century as a possession of counts of Antibes. During the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748) the settlement was destroyed by Sardinians. In the XX century, Mougins, located on the famous Route Napoleon, began to develop as a tourist center. Historically, the British settled here, they liked large plots with villas and an abundance of greenery.
In the "Manor House" near the chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Vie (XII century), artist Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) lived the last 12 years of his life (1881-1973). There is a landscape view of the Chapel of the brush by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Other famous residents of the city are the French avant-garde artist and writer Francis Picabia (1879-1953) and fashion designer Christian Dior (1905-1957).
Text: based on the magazine Maisons & Appartements (France)
Photo: mougins.fr, palamos.ru