Talking property

Russians rule on Côte d'Azur says ISABEL MORTON

IT’S ALL HUSTLE and bustle on the Côte d’Azur now, as the countdown begins to mid-April, the official start of the summer season, when beach restaurants, cafes and hotels pull up their shutters and open up for business.

Seaweed, washed up on the beaches during the winter storms, is being raked up and removed, shopfronts repainted and outdoor furniture and parasols set up along the promenades.

Our local Castorama (a chain of huge home and garden stores like Woodie’s, Chadwick’s and a few others combined) is packed to the seams with builders, DIY-ers and browsers.

The busiest section last weekend was Jardin et Exterieur, despite the fact that we'd had two days of torrential rain and strong winds earlier in the week. The locals are used to wild spring storms and know that, this year, like every other, they'll have a long, hot summer and will spend much of their time outdoors.

The parasol section alone would exhaust you with its vast range of shapes, colours and designs; round, square, oval, rectangular, tilted, wall-fixed, table-held, free-standing – or perhaps we’d like sails? (In other words triangular-shaped canvas fabric, stretched like an awning between poles.) And there was an array of outdoor, room-like structures such as pergolas, kiosks, tents and cocoons, hung with curtains to protect you from low-angled rays.

I tried out a comfortable swinging seat and reminisced about the days when the sun briefly shone down on us all in Ireland and we laid sandstone patios and timber decks and spent fortunes on garden furniture and paraphernalia.

The same thought struck me again, later, on the way out of the car park, at the sight of builders queuing up at loading bays to collect their supplies and materials.

Despite the fact that the top two most expensive residential streets in the world (in Monaco and Cap Ferrat) are situated along this short stretch of beautiful coastline, planning laws remain very strict and French banks keep a firm hand on lending, so property prices for the most part, remain stable.

Last September, the average French mortgage rate fell to 3.30 per cent, its lowest level since the second World War. In the UK it is currently 3.63 per cent despite the fact that the sterling base rate is 0.5 per cent and the euro base rate is double that at 1 per cent.

Three-quarters of French mortgage holders have long-term, fixed-rate loans of 15-25 years and those with variable mortgage rates have a cap of plus one per cent, which means the rate cannot rise by more than one percentage point.

French mortgages tend not to exceed 80 per cent LTV (loan to value) and the mortgage market is sensibly structured with reasonable rates, aimed at reducing borrowers’ exposure. Now, there’s an idea!

(In fact, while we're at it, we could also copy the French medical system and might even consider adopting their national motto: Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité.)

Although the property market on the French Riviera slowed down a bit after the global banking crash in late 2008 through to the end of 2009, it bounced back again last year and so far, viewings for both rentals and sales are strong again this year.

These days, letting agents believe that Russians make up about 70 per cent of the seasonal rentals of top-level properties along the coast between Monaco and St Tropez, with the remaining 30 per cent mainly consisting of Scandinavians, Germans, Dutch, Arabs, Italian, and English.

Russians don’t do things by halves, particularly those who holiday on the Côte d’Azur. According to one Russian search agent we met last week, everybody has to leave Moscow during the summer as it’s just too hot and uncomfortable and it’s not at all en vogue to summer in the city.

Wealthy Russian families move, lock, stock and barrel, to the Côte d’Azur for at least three of the six months (mid- April to mid-October) of the summer season. And, as many arrive into Nice International Airport in their private jets, they are not restricted by Ryanair baggage allowances and bring everything from nannies and security staff to their favourite Russian foods.

When on holiday, Russians are perfectly prepared to spend money on extra furnishings for their rental villa, in order to make their stay more comfortable. One agent reported that her Russian clients demanded that all of the small French beds be replaced with larger ones and that an extra fridge/freezer be installed, along with three new television sets, all tuned to receive Russian stations.

The agent shrugged and said – “They’re like royalty, and we are happy to bow to them when they visit the Côte d’Azur”. Indeed, if they deigned to holiday in Ireland, we’d lie prostrate before them.

• Isabel Morton is a property consultant