Nice, the capital of the famous French Riviera, has once again become synonymous with glamour, charisma and that certain sense of French style that translates into easy living. The place to be seen, to be hedonistic, to relax and eat well.

The Riviera has undergone countless transformations in the last 150 years after its charms were discovered by the British aristocracy and then by the Americans in the 1920s and 1930s. In the last 10 years, the most famous stretch of beach in the world (from St. Tropez to Menton on the Italian border) has undergone a significant renaissance and has once again become the destination of choice for many wealthy Europeans and Americans.

But the extraordinary phenomenon of this area is that you don’t have to be a millionaire to get your share of the Riviera, especially if you’re a fan of urban life. It is true that there is a large selection of villas and old country houses in the hills behind Nice that are worth many millions of dollars, but if you want to buy a well-presented apartment in Nice, just minutes from the beach, your budget does not need to go much more than $180,000. Those who have bought property in Nice warn potential US buyers that if you don’t make an effort to learn at least the basics of the language and try to fit in, it can be a difficult transition. But they add that there is plenty of help available for new American buyers with a large expat community and clubs like the English-American Bridge club, the English-American Library, and a variety of social gatherings throughout the year.

The vast majority of North American buyers are looking for larger, more luxurious villas or apartments, and according to UK mortgage bank Abbey National, although US buyers make up just 2 percent of international buyers on the Riviera, they are still the ones who more spend with an average of 229,000 euros on a property. The median price for British buyers is €142,000, but Brits make up around 40 per cent of foreign buyers in all of France and that figure is even higher in the south.

The British have been the most active buyers in the South of France for the last 6 years mainly due to the birth of a number of highly successful low-cost airlines in England and Ireland unloading 40 planeloads of British sunseekers on the shores from the Cote d’Azur every day. Buyers from other countries are reaping the benefits of the “British Invasion” as the city of Nice has seriously cleaned up its image over the last 5 years due to pressure from mainly middle class buyers who want a more safe, neat and clean. The City Council is renovating old streets with new pedestrian zones, a new state-of-the-art tram line will start operating in 2006 and the city police have been told to be more understanding of the concerns of foreigners and expats living in the area.

The latest French real estate statistics show that current buyers are likely to see a 15 to 20 percent increase in their investment over the next year. But it is the US invasion that is cheering many agents. They say that the south of France is seeing many more Americans inquiring about properties in the last twelve months. American clients return to the Riviera in increasing numbers after the drop in tourism after 9/11. Certainly, there are far more Americans on the streets of Nice, Cannes, Monaco and St. Tropez than there have been in years.

There is still great affection in the south of France for the Americans who, in many ways, reinvented the Côte d’Azur in their own image at the turn of the last century, beginning with American rail magnate Frank Jay Gould, who single-handedly opened the summer. he spent time in Juan-les-Pins and built the magnificent Palais de la Mediterranee in Nice. Artists like F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway followed, and in later years, the greats of US jazz made their second home on the Riviera. In a famous incident, American millionaires Gerald and Sara Murphy persuaded the Hotel du Cap on the Cap d’Antibes to stay open for their party entourage in the summer of 1926, something they had never done before. In more recent times, the likes of Ivana Trump have shopped on the Riviera and Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen has taken to spending more and more time in the south of France using his yacht, the largest in the port of Antibes. , as base.

The region’s ability to stay on the A-list with so many people is partly a result of its beauty. From the deep blue Mediterranean to glamorous cities and medieval hilltop villages, the French Riviera is hard to resist and many more tourists are buying property after their third or fourth visit.

The market throughout the Riviera remains very buoyant and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future. This is due to the requirements of foreign buyers who are very specific about what they want, mainly based on a romantic idea of ​​the Côte d’Azur and its old stone farmhouses and 1000-year-old mountain villages. They also want their ‘perfect’ property to be close to the region’s only international airport in Nice. This means that there is a limited supply of prestigious and picturesque properties available that fit the criteria of foreign buyers and supply and demand means that prices will continue to rise as these romantic old properties become harder to find.

This, in turn, has forced a change in the expectations of many North American and British buyers who realize the difficulty of finding their ‘dream’. They are now looking at newer construction projects and more modern apartment developments along the coast. There has been massive growth in this sector of the market with some parts of the coastline being transformed into permanent construction sites.

Those who specialize in finding great properties in the hills behind the Riviera say that properties are there to be found and that the characterful properties that many buyers dream of haven’t completely disappeared, they just cost more. An example was a beautiful postcard with an old 17th century mill in the hills about 30 minutes from Nice. A property where nothing has really changed in the last 100 years. The huge old mill wheels and the water wheel that drives them have survived and still function, and the pond that feeds the water wheel has now become one of the most spectacular pools in the area. The old mill went on the market at the end of 2005 for 3 million euros.

As in all areas of the world, being a foreign buyer comes with its own inherent problems, so you need to be careful, but a good agency will help you avoid potential pitfalls, guide you through the bureaucracy, and make the buying experience smoother. be pleasant . With that in mind, there are some golden rules for buying in France.

1. Find an agency with fluent English speaking sales staff. Some of the biggest problems foreign buyers face are misunderstandings caused by not knowing the local vernacular.

2. Talk to the agents you want to deal with before you travel or want to start looking at properties. You’ll quickly get a sense of their professionalism over the phone if they can answer your questions about the local real estate market in detail.

3. Do your research. Have a good knowledge of the region and a pretty good idea of ​​where and what you want to buy. This will help both the agents and yourself secure the exact apartment or house you want without spending days sitting in a car looking at hopelessly inappropriate properties.

4. Ask for references. If an agency is doing a good job for their English-speaking clients, they should be able to send you the details of at least 3 satisfied clients who can tell you all about their purchase and the agency they want to work with.

5. Get a good Notary. A notary is a peculiarity in the French real estate market. He is a semi-government appointee who trains for seven years to deal with all the intricacies of buying your property. The notary is essentially a property attorney who makes sure that there are no debts associated with the property and that a highway is not built through your living room within five years. He also manages the now mandatory search for asbestos, termites, and lead in the apartment. A good Notary will take your hand as an independent party in the transaction. A bad one can be arrogant and abrupt. Technically, as an independent party, the Notary can act for both parties in the transaction, but it is always advisable to obtain your own and it does not cost you more.

6. And lastly, come with an open mind. France and many of its buildings have existed in one form or another for a thousand years. Unless you’re spending more than $1 million, don’t expect to find 200-square-foot bathrooms or big American fridges. A tip from Europe’s smartest property buyers, the British, nice and old are always the best investments.