Buying in France:I wonder if Palaeolithic man, swinging by the south of France around 30,000 BC, realised, as he sat carving his flints on the Cap Taillat, that the St Tropez peninsula would in time become some of the most prized real estate in the world?, writes Carolyn Reynier.
Did the Romans, who didn't go down with their ships, potter along Pampelonne beach, across kilometres of fine sand warmed by a Mediterranean sun blazing out of a cloudless azure sky, bemoaning the loss of their amphorae of wine, and think "Hmmm. This could be worse," or the Latin equivalent?
We shall never know. What we do know is that within the department of the Var, prices in the Gulf of St Tropez area are 30 per cent higher than in the rest of the department; and prices in the triangle of Gassin/St Tropez/Ramatuelle, at the tip of the lush green wooded and vine- covered St Tropez peninsula are 30 per cent higher again, with Gassin prices a little lower than in the other two communes.
Surrounded by forests, the village of Gassin has retained its authenticity and is one of the 148 Plus Beaux Villages de France.
The mayor, Monsieur Zerbone, has gone to great lengths to preserve the natural environmental heritage of the commune, as have his counterparts.
The old village, with its winding lanes and old houses, is situated on a rocky promontory less that 4km from the coast.
You'll pass ancient doors built in characteristic green serpentine and grey or black basalt, metamorphic and volcanic rocks extracted from local quarries. The oldest is dated 1422. There's a lovely panorama sweeping round from the Hyères Islands, across the Massif des Maures hills to the snow-capped Alpine peaks.
There are properties available for under €300,000. In the commune of Gassin, Cabinet Jomel is selling a small one-bedroom mas in a quiet residence with pool and garden. South/south-west facing, it is on two levels plus a mezzanine; there is a private garden of 42sq m (452sq ft). The price is €165,000.
Solène Toutain has recently joined her mother Chantal Warrick at Les Barrys, a small agency in the village itself. Warrick, who has lived in Gassin for 30 years, started her real estate agency 16 years ago. They have a similar type of property for sale for €252,000 in a domain with pool and tennis court 6km or so from St Tropez. There are two bedrooms, private parking and a little garden of 40sq m (430sq ft).
Houses in the old village are much sought after although, at rarely more than 100sq m (1,076sq ft), they are small. The average price per square metre is €6,000. In the new village, built in 1990, Warwick is marketing a 95sq m (990sq ft) property with country views and four bedrooms, two with balconies onto the garden, at €650,000.
Estate agency in these parts is often a family affair. Nicolas Barranco works with his father, Joseph, who has been selling property on the peninsula for 30 years. "We don't really have a price per square metre. If you ask five agents to value your property, there'll be a variance of 30 to 40 per cent."
One client is selling through Barranco père et fils, his five bedroom villa with vineyards and hills all around for €5.5m. The property is just a couple of kilometres from Ramatuelle. Each bedroom has its own bathroom, there's an open fire in the drawingroom for those winter evenings and a diningroom which opens onto the terrace with lovely views of the village. The pool and pool house (converted to another bedroom with shower) are in large grounds which are part landscaped, part natural woodland.
Ramatuelle lies on one of the foothills of the Paillas Hill, overlooking the Bay of Pampelonne and the plain. For security, it was built following a circular plan, rather like a snail's shell; traces of the high walls are still visible. The architecture is typically Mediterranean with glimpses of porches, stairs, passages, tiny squares, narrow flower-filled cobble-stoned lanes; market day is Thursday.
The commune includes the three caps of Camarat, Taillat and Lardier, linked by a footpath offering 200km of walking along the Var coast. Originally frequented by customs officers, it passes by stretches of sandy beaches, steep creeks, a variety of Mediterranean vegetation, and pine forests.
In the fishing village of St Tropez (markets on Tuesdays and Saturdays; a great wee fish market just up from the port), Olivier Le Quellec, owner of Transacmer, sells top-end properties throughout the peninsula. "It's a small market, but there are always lovely properties to sell." For instance, €1.5m will buy you a one-bedroom apartment by the port. One of the pretty fishermen's cottages with terrace and sea view will sell for €4 to €5m. You'll get change from €20m for a six-bedroom villa (four in the main house, two in the guest house) overlooking Cannoubiers bay in the commune of St Tropez.
"Prices of properties with sea views and a pool have rocketed over the last 10 years," says Le Quellec. The same applies to the 160 or so properties in the 200 hectare Parcs de St Tropez, located just outside the village, marketed by Françoise Albertone at the Agence des Parcs de St Tropez. If you're not worried about a sea view, you can buy a property from €2m. If you are, multiply by 10 for what the French call a villa pieds dans l'eau. Brigitte Bardot bought hers on sight in 1958. "At the time, comfort at La Madrague was limited to say the least, there wasn't even running water. We had to pump water from the well! While I don't care for ostentatious luxury, I do like my comfort and launched into substantial building works."
Today, it is a seller's market with agents reporting a large Irish and British clientele. There are American and Scandinavian buyers too. Access to the peninsula by car in the summer is hellish; access by boat from St Raphaël to the port of St Tropez is heaven. But if you're thinking of retiring here, think again. L'Annonciade in St Tropez, one of my favourite museums (Bonnard to Vuillard via Dufy, Signac and Utrillo), only closes in November; but lively restaurants, cafés and shops in the three villages are only lively for about eight months of the year. Then many owners shut up shop and push off to the ski resorts; it becomes very quiet. I like that. You may not.
Having said that, Damien Rey-Brot whose family have lived in Gassin for seven generations, recently returned from Paris to retire and ended up buying Le Pescadou restaurant. It's Catch 22, he explains.
"Everyone disappeared because nothing was open. If you make the effort to open, folk come back. December in St Tropez is an amazing month, much more festive than in the Paris region. The mairie really makes a great effort all year round."
Local agents
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