Essonne Property Insight

The department Essonne belongs to the Paris Ile de France region, and also to the large crown of the Paris agglomeration, along with Seine et Marne, Yvelines, and Val d’Oise. The department gathers 1,198,300 inhabitants (in 2006), living in 196 towns and cities. The administrative centre of the department is Evry, with over than 50,000 inhabitants.

Overview

Essonne is located in the south part of the Paris Ile de France region and shares borders with Yvelines, Seine et Marne, Hauts de Seine, Val de Marne, and Loiret, and Eure et Loir in the Centre. The north of the department has developed a lot these last years and is very urbanized, while the south of the department has remained rather rural. As a matter of fact, 28 towns are part of the Gatinais regional natural park.

Essonne was created in 1964 and gathers four natural areas: the Hurepoix, from the centre to the north west, the French Brie in the north east, The Beauce in the south west and the Gatinais in the south east. The department has also some green spaces, such as forests (four different ones) and rivers.

The department has been created and designed to be an extension of the Paris agglomeration. Some cities have been almost entirely created, such as Evry and Senart, these cities are called New Cities. Some universities and competitive economical centres have been removed to the department in order to attract more people and to create new traffic.

As a result, the economy of Essonne is based on research centres, located around universities, as well as high technology companies. Agriculture also plays a role in the Essonne’s economy.

Essonne Immobilier & Property Market Trends

The Essonne department is a rather affordable department if we compare it to the regional average (€3,043/sq m in Essonne, while the regional average is €5,100/sq m). However it is rather expensive if compared to the national average (€3,200/ sq m), but is it relevant to compare Ile de France to the national average? Assets are definitely not the same.

Rentals also offer great opportunities, as the department attracts both many students and many employees. Moreover, with €15.22/sq m/month, you will have a quick return on investment.

Generally speaking, Essonne is a good place to invest, as it is close by Paris and twice less expensive as the capital city. As a result it is an excellent investment and alternative to Paris, both for a buy-to-let, and for a second-home or a pied a terre.

To get updated info about property prices in Essonne, please browse our French Property Market Reports published in the News Section every month.

5 Reasons to Buy a Property in Essonne

• Castles: the entire area around Paris displays many castles, the best example being the Centre region. Essonne gathers seven out of 21 castles listed as the ‘Gardens and Castles around Paris’. Here are some places you must visit: Courson castle is an archetype of Ile de France castles and it stands out for its breathtaking park; Courances castle has also a beautiful park, both romantic and classical, historic and contemporary, etc. Between other castles do not miss the Saint Jean de Beauregard Castle, Caillebotte Property, Chamarande Castle, Marais Castle and Park, etc.

• Parks and green spaces: Essonne gathers many parks and green spaces, in addition to the parks which belong to the numerous castles. In the town of Lardy you can see the Town council and the Boussard parks, in Launay the botanic park, in Villeroy the 110 hectares park where you can go for long walk, etc. Not to mention the forests: Senart forest, Dourdan forest, Trois Pignons forest and Verrieres forest.

• Religious architecture heritage: the department has very rich religious architecture heritage, from the 10th century until today. Evry is an archetype of the department, as its religious architecture is extremely rich: it houses churches from the 17th century to the 20th century, with the Cathedrale de la Resurrection, which is the only cathedral in France built during the 20th century. It is a very modern building which revolutionizes the religious architecture. In Evry you will also see the Courcouronnes Mosque, which is one of the largest in the western Europe, and soon you will see the Khanh-Anh Pagoda, which will be the largest in Europe. There are many other monuments, churches, basilicas that are worth visiting in the department.

• Museums and cultural heritage: one of the good way to discover the culture in Essonne is to visit the numerous museums it has on offer. There are three kinds of museums: artists’ houses (Foujita, Victor Hugo, Claude Francois, and Jean Cocteau), history of techniques (Plane museum, glass works museum, photography museum, etc.), and Local history and sacred arts museums.

• Location-transport infrastructures: owing to its location at the entrance door of the Ile de France region, Essonne has a very good road network inherited from the past. There are six roads which go through the department from north to south and also six from east to west. The airport Paris Orly is located only few kilometres (no more than 10km) from the department, which makes travels anywhere in the world very easy. The department is also very well linked to Paris, thanks to the RER, which is the regional train.

Local Property Market: 2 Popular Towns

• Evry property: being the administrative centre of the department Evry is an important University and economic centre. As it was built during late 20th century, it is a very new city with an interesting town-planning. House prices in Evry, as in the whole department are rather affordable.
• Orsay property: located only 22km from Paris, Orsay is a piece of heaven that has on offer many parks and gardens. House prices in the town are higher than the department average, because of the proximity to Paris.

Property Styles and Architecture in Essonne

• Detached houses: in towns and villages you are likely to find this kind of property. They are usually modern dwelling, two storey high and they come with a small piece of garden. In average they have 4 bedrooms, and of course all the common rooms, such as kitchen, living room, bathroom, toilets, etc. They also come with a parking and often even with a garage. They are the perfect dwelling if you wish to settle with your family, as they are both useful and comfortable.

• Mansions: these luxuries properties are to be found in calm places, usually out of cities. They are huge properties, usually 3 storey high, with many bedrooms, at least one or two kitchens, an oak or marble staircase, 2 or 3 bathrooms, etc.Luxury is the keyword for these properties, and as a consequence you can easily figure that prices are prohibitive. However, if you do have funds, you can invest in one of them and transform it into various apartments or make a huge gite. Of course they also come with a huge piece of land, which can be a forest, a garden, a pond, etc.

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