Middle Eastern property buyers flock to French Riviera

The French Riviera's prime property market is currently one of the global hot spots for those looking to buy a residence in excess of €5 million ($5.4 million), according to international estate agents.

The Cote d’Azur tops the Savills Prime Second Home Locations Index as the most desirable destination for a second home, having been established as the premier playground of the rich and famous a century ago.

The number of prime residential property transactions for homes valued at more than €5 million on the exclusive Cap d’Antibes has doubled in the last two years, according to Alex Balkin of Savills French Riviera, with the market being driven by demand from “international buyers from the United States, the Middle East, and northern Europe, including Scandinavia”.

“They are typically in their 40s and 50s and work in the financial or tech sectors,” he added.

The enduring appeal of the French Riviera has been illustrated recently by reports that the American fund manager billionaire Ken Griffin has snapped up a two-acre waterfront luxury villa and estate in St Tropez for $90 million.

The Domaine de la Capilla is at the northern end of St Tropez’s Pampelonne Beach, and comprises a villa set in landscaped grounds with a private swimming pool.

It was previously owned by Gunter Sachs, the heir to the Opel fortune, who was the third husband of the French actress Bridgette Bardot, and was once romantically linked to Queen Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiary, the former Empress of Iran.

Analysis by the wealth management firm Henley & Partners shows there has been a 25 per cent rise in the number of ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNWIs) choosing to either relocate and live full-time or have second homes on the French Riviera in the Nice to Èze region.

“Currently, for homes along the French Riviera priced over €10 million around 70 per cent of the buyers are international,” Lars Christiaanse, group director of sales at Caudwell told The National.

“For Riviera homes valued above €15 million the most prolific buyers by country of origin are wealthy purchasers from the Middle East, led by purchasers from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, alongside buyers from America, India and the Nordic countries.”

'Sunny wealth hubs'

A survey by Beauchamp Estates (France), has found that ultra-prime properties along the French Riviera increased in value by up to 20 per cent between 2019 and 2023, as demand from international buyers returned with force following the Covid pandemic.

The study found that ultra-prime properties between St Tropez and St-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, including the resorts of Cannes, Mougins, Cap d’Antibes, Cap-d’Ail and Beaulieu-Sur-Mer, now command an average value of €24 million ($26 million), higher than an equivalent villa in London’s St John’s Wood or a town house in Mayfair.

“Sunny wealth hubs such as the French Riviera, Dubai and Miami are increasingly places where the global super rich choose to live,” said Adrien Willing-Lamy, managing director of Beauchamp Estates (France).

“As a result most super prime buyers on the French Riviera are looking for homes that are both a long-term investment and where they can live for long periods of the year, rather than just short stay holiday homes.”

The world's rich and famous have been flocking to the French Riviera for more than a century. Names such as Coco Chanel and Estee Lauder helped to put the region on the map in the late 1920s, while later visits by the Kennedys, Marilyn Monroe, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones all supported the image that Cote d'Azur was the must-go-to destination for the hip, cool and monied. After all, it's no coincidence that one of the biggest events in the world of glamour, the Cannes Film Festival, is annual magnet for celebrities, Hollywood stars and UHNWIs on the French Riviera.

As such, the history and tradition of glitz and glamour that stretches from Monte Carlo to Antibes to Cannes and onwards to St. Tropez attracts ultra-prime property buyers from all over the world, especially from America and the Middle East.

Part of that glamorous history is being recaptured in the refurbishment of Le Provençal, a former 1920s hotel on the Cap d'Antibes. Painstakingly restored to its former glory by the developer Caudwell, this landmark property is now being sold as a number of residences, including three spectacular six bedroomed penthouses, each with 9,440 square feet (877 square metres) of internal living space and up to 5,672 square feet (527 square metres) of private balconies, covered loggias and terraces.

Each penthouse is accessed by a dedicated owner’s lift, providing privacy and enhanced security. Two are priced at €31 million ($33.5 million) and one at €40 million ($43 million) – all come with six parking bays within the Le Provençal development.

“With their private terraces, swimming pools and far-reaching panoramic views the penthouses at Le Provençal are the jewels in the crown of this luxurious Caudwell development which is the finest residential scheme on the French Riviera,” Mr Christiaanse said.

“These penthouses offer a truly unique, not-to-be-repeated, opportunity to buy an outstanding home and long-term investment.”

Mr Christiaanse told The National that 40 per cent of the enquiries regarding the large residences and the penthouses at Le Provençal are now coming from the Middle East, up from 20 per cent at the beginning of the year.

“Since the start of 2024 we have noticed a marked uplift in interest from buyers from the Gulf region led by high-net-worth families from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait,” he said.

New-builds in short supply

In recent decades, buyers from the Gulf seeking a beachfront property in Europe tended to be drawn towards the likes of St. Tropez and Cannes, but estate agents are noticing that as these hotspots become more crowded, astute buyers, particularly those with families, are looking slightly further afield on the French Riviera to Cap d’Antibes, Cap-Ferrat and Cap-d’ Ail.

“In Cap d’Antibes we are finding the buyers from the Gulf are either families with children, with the parents in their 30s and 40s, or early retired couples in their late 50s and early 60s, they are typically looking to spend anything between €8 million to €80 million on a Riviera holiday home,” Mr Christiaanse told The National.

The buying process usually follows a path where a family from the Gulf will stay at one of the Cote d'Azur's exclusive hotels such as the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, Cap d’Antibes Beach Hotel or Hôtel Belles Rives for a summer, often returning the following year with a mind to purchasing.

But the supply of newly-build ultra-prime villas is very limited, simply because available space on the French Riviera is at such a premium. In addition, the complexity of French planning laws and the sheer cost of labour and materials can make refurbishment of an existing, older property an unattractive proposition for the UHNWI simply looking for a luxurious holiday home.

“These aspects combined have been key drivers of increased demand for any newbuild property that comes to the market, whether it is an individual home or multi-unit development,” said Peter Illovsky of Sotheby’s International Realty (Côte d’Azur).

“Though newbuild, rather than refurbished villas, are extremely rare in the South of France, particularly so on the caps, and due to strict planning control.”

It's what makes the recently completed Domaine de la Belle Étoile such a rarity in the property market on the French Riviera.

Overlooking Port L’Olivette on the Cap d’Antibes, this property has 16,040 square feet (1,490 square metres) of unparalleled living accommodation spread over a main villa and three guest cottages with leisure amenities including a cinema, spa, gym, games room and a glass-walled swimming pool, all set in 1.47 hectares of meticulously landscaped gardens.

“With Domaine de la Belle Étoile, the accommodation is substantial so a buyer could bring their own chef, staff, security and maintain their desired lifestyle with ease,” Mr Illovsky said.

“La Belle Étoile is a very special villa, and buyers will be excited by this opportunity; it is rare to get a newbuild villa of this exceptional quality in Cap d’Antibes.”