An emblematic castle perched on a hill overlooking the surrounding area, the proximity of the Loire castles and the mild climate are among the attractions of Blois. In the field of real estate, this translates into a market that is doing rather well, as evidenced by the data compiled by Meilleurs Agents.
For three months, prices have been rising, and they have even experienced double-digit growth over five years. In the field, however, real estate agents are more nuanced. “Properties that are selling have seen their prices drop by 5% to 8%, but sellers are having difficulty accepting the new prices”explains Fazli Curlu, director of the Stéphane Plaza agency in Blois. The Covid-19 period, which saw the arrival of Parisians ready to spend significant sums, seems to be well over. The Blésois are now the main buyers and benefit from the very reasonable prices in the city compared to the two closest large cities, Tours and Orléans.
In Blois (45,000 inhabitants), it costs a little less than 2,000 euros per square meter for an apartment or a house, while prices reach 4,000 euros per square meter in Tours and 3,000 euros per square meter in Orleans. The most requested area is that of the schools located near the cathedral, on the heights of the city. There are beautiful stone family houses there. There are few for sale currently and it costs around 500,000 euros for a house with good amenities, even if small houses at 200,000 euros are also for sale.
The city center located just around the castle is, for its part, a district in reorganization. Destroyed during the Second World War at the same time as the bridges over the Loire, it is made up of old buildings as well as small buildings dating from the reconstruction. “The businesses occupy the ground floors and the traders traditionally lived on the upper floors, but they have deserted them and we want to give them back as housing for the population”indicates Jérôme Boujot, deputy mayor in charge of town planning.
Fight against commercial decline
The goal is to renovate these housing units to bring new residents back to the center and fight against commercial abandonment. Same thing for the old Hôtel-Dieu on the banks of the Loire, which will be transformed into around a hundred housing units and a public garden. Histoire & Patrimoine, specialist in the renovation of historic monuments, in particular through the Malraux system, was responsible for the renovation. The announced budgets start at 5,000 euros per square meter before tax deduction. For the moment, in the city center, it costs between 1,600 and 2,000 euros per square meter to acquire an apartment.
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