Dijon’s center remains attractive while prices drop elsewhere in the city and suburbs

Since 2012, property prices in Dijon and its periphery have fallen slowly but steadily. However, houses and apartments in the historic city center remain expensive and sought after.

For the past three years, prices have fallen slightly but steadily in Dijon and its periphery. Between 2014 and 2015, apartment prices decreased by 4.5% to stand at 1,900 euros per square meter. Meanwhile, house prices fell by almost 5%. Most transactions in the area now pertain to property costing less than 200,000 euros.

According to real estate professionals quoted by l’Express, the fall in prices applies unilaterally to all sectors, property types and geographical areas in this capital of the Côte-d’Or department and of the Burgundy region. One exception to the downward trend: Dijon’s historic city center, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since July 2015. There, the housing supply remains in high demand.

This is especially true of upscale apartments in Haussmann-style buildings, and timbered houses close to the place de la Libération. This type of property sells easily for prices exceeding 4,000 euros per square meter.

Aside from the city center, all areas of Dijon exhibit such low property prices as to beckon back buyers on tight budgets. “Even in neighborhoods considered safe values, low prices make for ever-increasing buying opportunities”, says Pascal Massip, a notaire in Dijon. This is reportedly the case in the area surrounding the Victor Hugo avenue, which displays high-end houses and apartments built in the 1960s and 1970s.

The best neighborhoods for first-time buyers or buyers on a budget in Dijon and its surroundings are now Montzumard and near the city’s universities, where bright apartments are going for less than 2,100 euros per m2. In the south of the city, three and four bedroom properties are advertised for less than 1,500 euros per m2.

Famous for its internationally renowned mustard — which dates as far back as 1856 — and its historic and cultural heritage, Dijon also displays a distinctive architecture, one particular feature of which is its decorated roofs adorned with neat patterns of green, yellow and black glazed terracotta tiles. Its city center contains several old structures and still inhabited historic houses, many dating from the 18^th century and earlier.

Dijon is home to a famous flower show, boasts of several museums — such as the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon — and green spaces and parks. Each Fall, the city also hosts an annual International Gastronomic Fair, which is one of the top ten fairs in France.

Capital.fr displays a detailed area by area property price map of Dijon.

Photo credit: Wikimedia / Christophe Finot