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Nice has confirmed that the tram from the airport will cost €1 (or €1.50 if only a single), same as the other tram line.
As you know, a bus journey from the airport currently costs €6 on the 98 bus, unlike every other bus route which is at €1. This was to appease the taxi drivers, who thought the cheap bus ticket was unfair competition as they charge up to €40 to the city centre. No such concession this time.
The new tram will be inaugurated this evening at 5pm, and open to the public starting tomorrow. It will serve Nice airport to Magnan, half way down the Promenade, then to Avenue Jean Medecin from the 1st June next year, finally all the way to the Port next Christmas.
Le prix du ticket de tram pour aller à l'aéroport de Nice (enfin) dévoilé
nicematin.com
Le maire a annoncé mercredi que le trajet en tramway pour les deux terminaux de l'aéroport sera au même tarif que l'ensemble du réseau Lignes d'Azur. Soit 1 euro (pour l'achat d'une carte de 10 vo...
The headline says Paris still the most expensive city at €10,161/m², ahead of Nice in 4th place after Bordeaux and Lyon, at €4,141/m². However Nice increased in price by 2.4% the last quarter, whereas Bordeaux and Lyon dropped by -1.9% and -3.2% respectively. Other strong performers were Strasbourg, Lille and Marseille.
This is one of the strongest Q4 I have seen in years. Well priced properties are selling very quickly, and the web sites are full of mostly over-priced or sold properties. Put an advert up for your apartment, you will be inundated with phone calls from estate agents desperate for something to sell. I expect this to continue after the usual seasonal lull (mid-December until mid-January). With all the new infrastructure projects being completed end 2019 now is a great time to be a buyer... if you can find anything to buy. My advice has not changed since the start of the year: do not look on web sites and try and line up properties to view until a week before your arrival. Turnover is too high. And get an estate agent that is specialist in your area and well connected. Only they will have access to good deals going.
Immobilier : Paris toujours en tête devant Bordeaux et Nice - 29/11/2018 08:42:00 - Boursorama
boursorama.com
29/11/2018 08:42:00 - (Relaxnews) - Dans son baromètre du mois de novembre, LPI-SeLoger met en lumière des différences d'évolution entre les prix des appartements anciens des grandes villes de Fra...
We now know exactly when the new tram line will be leaving from Nice airport, and it is in 10 days time on the 14th December! Ahead of the scheduled "Christmas time". The first tram will be open to the public on the Friday at 5pm.
Next June the first half of the underground system will open, with the tram running all the way from the airport to Avenue Jean Medecin, and by next Christmas the tram line will be open all the way to the Port.
nicematin.com
La date est arrêtée: le 14 décembre, le tramway desservira les deux terminaux de l'aéroport. Le trajet inaugural, ce vendredi-là, est programmé à 17 heures. Le reste de la ligne? Il sera mis en...
Evacuation of 34 rue Droite in the Old Town. On Thursday, whilst doing works in the basement of the Indian restaurant in the corner of the building, a wall collapsed on on the worker killing him. The owner of the restaurant has been arrested. The building was immediately evacuated, the seven owners having to find accommodation elsewhere. No cracks have been found in the building yet but a structural study is to be done as soon as possible.
A neighbouring business owner told me that the restaurant owners have been secretly extending their underground space for a while. They allegedly wanted to make space for an extra ice machine so knocked out a supporting wall. This is the reason it collapsed so dramatically on the worker, and the lack of any authorisation for touching a supporting wall why the owner has been arrested.
This has happened twice more in the past decade to my knowledge, once on Rue Centrale and the second on Rue Colonne d'Istria. It can take a long time to repair as the restaurant owner is at fault but it still requires a court case to prove him culpable and order them to cover repairs. If the restaurant owner has let their insurance expire or decides to skip the country, it can take even longer. Though they will not undertake the repairs themselves immediately, the council will put in supports to ensure the building and neighbourings ones are not at risk.
Une voûte s'effondre sur un ouvrier dans le Vieux-Nice et le tue
nicematin.com
Selon nos informations, plusieurs ouvriers travaillaient dans un sous-sol appartenant au restaurant indien attenant à l’église du Gésu, rue Droite, au numéro 34. Ils auraient attaqué un mur por...
The Cours Saleya is about to get a complete revamp, as well as the road between the Cours Saleya and the Promenade des Anglais. The works still start next March to be completed in February 2021, and will cost €5M.
The fruit and flower market will be completely renovated, adding 260m² in stalls, and will be the fruit, veg and flower market until 2.30pm. The restaurants will then be able to put out their terraces from 6pm.
The square in between the Palais de Justice and the Cours Saleya will also get 28 new stalls, making it part of the market.
The biggest change will be in the small road sandwiched between the restaurants and the Promenade. Currently used to store rubbish bins, this is one of the most wasted items of prime real estate in Nice. This will become pedestrian and be turned into 850m² of terraces for the restaurants. This has huge potential.
If you continue down this road and past the end of the Cours Saleya, you go down Rue des Ponchettes. This beautiful road is flanked by the historically protected "Ponchettes" fisherman homes on one side, and on the other... our office. Please feel free to pop in and say hello!
EN IMAGES. Voici à quoi ressemblera le cours Saleya en 2021, après son réaménagement
nicematin.com
Enfin, l'éclairage ne se fera plus au moyen de candélabres mais avec un équipement des façades. Deux phases sont prévues pour mener ce chantier de 1,95 million d'euros. Place Pierre-Gautier C'est...
Is nowhere in Nice not in full expansion? The project to create a new city from the airport up the river to Lingostiere is in full swing. At the top end is the massive new Ikea along with offices and a shopping centre. Now the out of town Carrefour has announced it is expanding from 8,000m² to 20,000m².
This Carrefour is already one of the largest supermarkets in the region. For those of you with property here and have done a bit of DIY, you will know it as "the one behind Leroy Merlin". Yet another show of confidence in the development of the valley. It also lends additional services and infrastructure, all accessible by the new tram line.
How does this affect you if you live in the centre? It allows the Mayor to continue with the pedestrianisation of the city centre, which he wants to make a car free zone. It started to the Old Town, and now is expanding in the Carre d'Or and the Port area. Rue Marechal Joffre is losing its bus lane to grass and a cycle path. Rue Segurane and Martin Seytour are also going mostly pedestrian.
It will also allow the holiday home market to flourish as thousands more homes are being built near by that are attractive to young people, just outside but with easy access. Nice will avoid the trap of a bubble forming like we see in Paris.
Just one more year of disruptive works! And it sounds like it will be worth it.
5 chiffres pour tout savoir sur le projet d'extension de Carrefour Nice Lingostière
nicematin.com
20.000 D'une surface actuelle de 8.000 m², Carrefour Lingostière passera en 2020 à 20.000 m². >>RELIRE. Deux fois plus grand et des nouvelles enseignes, c'est parti pour le projet d'extension de C...
Around now, all of you home owners should be getting an email from the Tax Office. For those of you that are worried, here is a quick translation:
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Dear Madam/Sir/taxpayer,
The Government has made a major reform of local taxation. The first act concerns the housing tax "Taxe d'Habitation": 80% of households will be exempted for their principal residence by 2020. Eventually, this tax will be entirely abolished for all principal residences.
In fact, as of this year, 80% of households will benefit from a 30% reduction in their housing tax on their principal residence: you are part of it.
If you continue to meet the income conditions set by law, your housing tax will be reduced by 65% in 2019 and then eliminated in 2020. However, this gain can be reduced if one of the local authorities that taxes you has increased its tax rate or removed benefits to you.
In accordance with the commitments of the President of the Republic, this strong measure is intended to improve your purchasing power.
Please accept, Madam, Sir, the assurance of my highest consideration.
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If your property is a holiday home then this does not affect you. You still have to pay for the next few years, though Mr Macron promised the abolition of this tax so it should disappear in the not too distant future. If you have become tax resident in France, it should be reduced by a third this year, by a further third next year, and disappear completely in 2020.
I am sure the irony has not escaped many of you, where in a couple of years the only people paying the "Habitation" tax are the people that do not "habiter" there. When the directive for the complete elimination of this tax, including holiday homes, is published I will let you know here.
The courts in Paris have finally forced AirBnb (France) to disclose their accounts. What is clear is that it really is just a marketing branch. Last year they declared €7.7M in turnover and paid a total of €161,330 in tax.
All AirBnb booking revenue is routed via Ireland and London. AirBnb (France) is an independent French company, owned by AirBnb based in Delaware, USA. Pressure groups representing the hotel industry are crying foul but at this point it is not clear there is anything they can do.
Mis sous pression par des avocats parisiens, Airbnb publie ses comptes en France
lavieimmo.com
Assignée en référé, la filiale française du géant de la location saisonnière a finalement décidé de se plier à cette obligation légale.
Breakdown in Capital of the price increases in the different areas of Nice. It ranks the centre as going up 4% in the past year, and up 7% in the Port and the Liberation part of north Nice. I would take their price/m² with a pinch of salt.
It estimates that next year the arrival of the new tram line will boost prices by an extra 6%.
Another fact stated, which is borne out by what I have seen, is that a balcony adds 15-20% of the price. A general rule for a 1-bed holiday home in the centre is: a balcony, a second bedroom, or €40,000. Pick one.
Other items of interest are that house prices have remained static, and one area that has not increased in price is the Arenas which is the area around the airport. The latter is slightly surprising as it is due to be connected to the city centre by the new tram line and thousands of square metres of office space are being built as we speak.
Personally I find the article lightly researched and the evidence anecdotal, but an interesting read in the national press nonetheless.
Immobilier à Nice : la carte des prix 2018
capital.fr
Découvrez la carte des prix de l'immobilier à Nice., Si l’augmentation générale des prix atteint 4% depuis l’été dernier, l’évolution par secteur reste contrastée. Ainsi, le Port, quarti...
Nearly every council is raising the Taxe Fonciere this year to fill the coffers in anticipation of the removal of the Taxe Habitation. In total 300 French towns have raised this years rate, but Nice has raised it by far the most: 20%. This is twice the rate of the next biggest increase in Villeurbanne at 10.9%. The town hall claims this is a temporary increase, and there will be marked drops over the next two years. At roughly €800/year in the Old Town and €1,200/year in the city centre for a 1-2 bedroom typical holiday home, it is still very good value for money. Public services are excellent, as is public transport, and bins are emptied six days out of seven (Wednesday for recyclable).
Note: today is the deadline for paying your Taxe Fonciere. If you are paying by Internet you have a 10 day extension.
Nice est en tête des villes où la taxe foncière a le plus augmenté (et de loin)
nicematin.com
Nice est championne de France. Avec une augmentation de la taxe foncière de près de 20%, selon le Figaro (le quotidien s'est basé sur les données de l'Union nationale des propriétaires, UNPI), la...
If anybody is looking for some designer furniture, tomorrow the now-closed "Hi Hotel" on Avenue des Fleurs is auctioning off all its furniture. Nearly 300 items. The hotel will undergo a complete redesign and reopen Spring 2019.
Conceptualised and realised by matali crasset, a firm that has done contemporary design projects all over France and Italy, it was a very eye catching hotel with its bold colours and long organic juice bar in the lobby. Items might well would suit a trendy AirBnb style apartment.
The auction is at 2pm on premises, 3 avenue des Fleurs.
auction.fr
Enchérissez en ligne directement auprès de Boisgirard Antonini Nice pour la vente Vente du Mobilier de l'ancien Hi Hôtel à Nice décoré par Matali Crasset (2003) | Auction.fr
Interesting article in the Figaro about an apartment owner putting his apartment up for rent on AirBnb despite the fact it is banned in the building and he has not registered with the Town Hall. AirBnb simply refuses to take it down.
A Russian investor bought 35 apartments in a building in Cannes, and was renting them all out on AirBnb as a kind of virtual hotel. However the building rules include a clause of "habitation bourgeoise exclusive" which forbids short term rentals. He was forced to shut down by a court order in 2016.
One of the current building co-owners has been renting out on AirBnb since 2015 and continues to do so. The other 15 owners have been trying to stop him out of principle for fear the other, now empty, 35 apartments will fill up with new AirBnb-renting owners. They are having little success.
His lawyer makes an eloquent case, but AirBnb's response has been "sort it out between yourselves". The Town Hall has written asking for it to be taken down, as it has not been registered with the Town Hall, but AirBnb has shown little interest in doing so.
The left-wing parties in France have been pushing for greater pressure on AirBnb, the charge led by the rather radical mayor of Paris, and now in theory starting 2019 the French tax authorities will be able to ask AirBnb how much an owner has made that year. However, as we mentioned in an earlier article, AirBnb has all but pulled out of France. You make your bookings via Ireland, payments go via London, and the French footprint is "simply a small advertising firm". From the way things have been heading, it would seem it might be a while before anybody's collar feels the fingers of the French tax authorities.
Une copropriété attaque Airbnb pour non-respect de son règlement
immobilier.lefigaro.fr
Quinze des seize copropriétaires d’une résidence à Cannes reprochent à la plateforme d’hébergement de ne pas avoir supprimé une annonce de location publiée sur son site alors que leur règl...
Major change today to traffic in Old Nice. The small road by the opera house used to get to the Promenade (rue Raoul Bosio) is now closed. The biggest change is that the roads Rue Alexandre Marie, rue Desboutins and rue Van Loo, as well as the one behind the fountain in Place Massena, have all reversed direction. See the map. The only way into the Old Town to access parking will be via Descent Crotti.
This change is intended to be permanent, though they will re-evaluate after 6 months, to be followed by the pedestrianisation of the rest of Rue Saint-Francois-de-Paule. The idea is to stop people cutting through the Old Town to get from the city centre to the Promenade.
The Airbnb effect: Second home buyers renting out properties double
Interesting article in the Dailymail about the "AirBnb effect". Whereas 20 years ago buying a second home was all about finding that "idyllic retreat", today a second home is as much a revenue generator as it is a pied-a-terre. Since then, the number of people buying only for their own use has halved from 83% down to 38%.
Last year a survey shows that 45% of second home buyers intended to both use and rent, and 34% would only rent. Of course chasing higher yields has changed buying habits, with the average price of a second home down 37% to €241,000. The average gross rental yield was 6.4% gross, 3.9% net.
France remains the number one destination for British holiday home buyers, with 19% of the market. Spain follows with 16% and third place languishes far behind with Italy at 6%.
Not in the article, but from personal observation I have noticed a small but growing trend of clients getting somewhat the best of both worlds by simply sealing off a bedroom for personal use. For example a two bedroom being rented out on AirBnb as a one bedroom, with the owners bedroom locked away as their "personal space".
With the number of visitors increasing to Nice every year, and limited number of apartments for sale, this will undoubtedly keep yields high so we expect to see the trend in this article apply here.
The percentage of second homes being bought with the aim of making them help pay for themselves has grown sharply in the past two decades, claims estate agent Savills.
The fish market is moving back to Place St Francois! One of the oldest markets, the fish market was forced to move to Place Garibaldi, next to the Monoprix, whilst the square Place St Francois was being renovated. The square was then kept empty whilst under "observation". The market has been given the green light to move back next Monday on 1st October. This will bring back a lot of the original ambiance and will be welcome back in the heart of the Old Town.
Le marché aux poissons va réintègrer la place Saint-François à Nice
nicematin.com
>> RELIRE. Neuve mais désertée: cette place historique de Nice a-t-elle perdu son âme lors de sa rénovation? Le 1er octobre, les trois poissonniers plieront leurs étals. Pour quitter la place Toj...
Phillip Temple - Real Estate in NiceI was walking past this morning and they are custom welding a new metallic structure together. So it will be a permanent structure unlike the old ramshackle tables.
3 months ago · 2Well done Nice on pulling off a full on open-air fashion show, free to the public, right in front of the Palais de Rois Sardes. Google Weather tells me it "feels like 31C" so well done to the models putting on such a professional performance.
For those that missed it, there is a celebration tonight in Place St Francois. Live music, even a "Pain Bagnat competition". Free entry. Let the balmy summer nights continue.
Interesting fact about the hidden monastary in Place St Francois. Built in 1250, it was sold off in 1936 and since then has been a cinema, dance hall, hotel, offices, and since 1960 a local rubbish depot.
The city has spent nearly €1M restoring it, using 100 lorries to carry out 1,500 tons of rubble. And the original church floor is still 3m below the surface! They will be spending another €300,000 and by next year the original structure will be ready to restore to its original condition.
You will be able to visit the works done so far as part of the programme mentioned below, Saturday and Sunday between 10am and 5pm.
nicematin.com
"C'est un moment d'émotion. Il s'agit du seul lieu de cette époque que Nice ait conservé..." a rappelé le maire, Christian Estrosi, qui avait choisi ce symbole pour lancer les journées européenn...
If you are in Nice this weekend, 16-17th September, there is a special series of events celebrating the city. There are free concerts and shows, free access to museums and galleries, and tours of national monuments normally closed off to the public. Examples of the latter include the Town Hall, the Palais Sarde, and the currently hidden Franciscan monastary that is being restored in Place St Francois. Full programme is below (link in PDF).
nice.fr
AirBnb have decided not to post their revenues to the French tax authorities. Their last declaration was in 2016, posting a modest profit of €237,980 from their €136M of revenue and paying €92,944 of tax. Despite it being a legal obligation, they say that the information is too financially sensitive and could help competitors.
They are feeling similarly... fiscally protective... of their users. Starting 2019, the French government will be able to ask AirBnb how much each owner has made in revenue. However people renting AirBnb apartments in France now have their rental contracts with AirBnb Ireland, and payments are made from AirBnb London. The whole of AirBnb France is simply a "marketing office". This will make it impossible for the French tax authorities to check how much owners are making. To be seen what the French will do to try to get around that.
Airbnb ne publie plus ses comptes en France
lavieimmo.com
EXCLUSIF La filiale française du champion de la location saisonnière a décidé de ne pas déposer ses comptes pour l'année 2017. Pourtant, la loi l'y ob ...
When clients ask how much commission estate agents ask for in Nice, I tell them it is a standard 5%. In fact, I notice many other agencies around me are now charging 6%. A study now shows that the latter has become the norm down here.
The national average shows that at a 5.4% average, about half are charging 5% and the other half 6%. In Nice, at 5.8% average, it appears that 4 out of 5 agencies have now moved their commission rate to 6%. Sellers, check your Mandats before you sign!
Compared to commissions in the UK, some would expect estate agents down here to be sipping champagne every day. To show this is not the case, here is a simple example. An apartment is sold for €200,000 with a commission of 5%. That is €10,000. VAT at 20% must first be deducted leaving around €8,000. This is then split between buyer and seller agencies, so €4,000 each. The agency then splits this with the negotiator, who gets €2,000. They must then pay income tax, which for most is 30%, leaving around €1,400. This is the average rent for a two bedroom in the centre.
If anyone wants to get into the game here, it is very rewarding but be prepared to put in very long hours. If that does not put you off, feel free to ask me any questions. I will be happy to answer them.
Vente d’un bien immobilier : attention aux frais d’agence !
leparisien.fr
Une étude, que nous dévoilons en exclusivité, montre une incroyable disparité des honoraires facturés par les agences immobilières. Pire, 43 % ne respectent pas l’obligation d’afficher leurs...
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