House Hunting in…Bordeaux, France

via New York
via New York
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House Hunting in…Bordeaux, France

via New York
via New York

This six-bedroom, late 19th-century house, just west of the center of Bordeaux, was renovated by its current owner, preserving original elements like the marble staircase, fireplaces and hardwood floors.

Past the front door, glass-and-wood double doors open to an entrance hall with a half-bath, a translucent glass ceiling and stairs leading down to the garden level and up to the main floor. The garden level has a large bedroom with a shower, a laundry room, storage and a half-bath. The main floor has an open kitchen-and-dining area and a living room with dove-gray walls, a fireplace and French doors to a terrace and the garden below.

The second-floor landing serves as an office; a half-bath is adjacent. (The landing’s glass floor is the entrance hall’s ceiling.) The second floor has three bedrooms, including the master suite, and the third floor has two more bedrooms, both air-conditioned. In all, there are four half-baths, one on each floor; five bedrooms have en-suite showers, and the master suite has a bathtub and shower.

The 3,500-square-foot house sits on an approximately 7,000-square-foot lot. The owner, Jérôme Nivaux, said he saved as much of the original detail as possible during the renovation, although the layout was reconfigured and the paint, plumbing, electricity and double-paned windows are all new.

The house is a few steps from a boulangerie, cheesemonger and market; tram stops and a supermarket are about 400 yards away. A new high-speed train makes the trip to Paris in two hours from the Bordeaux-Saint-Jean station about three miles from the house. Bordeaux’s international airport is a 20-minute drive.

MARKET OVERVIEW

Bordeaux, which has a population of about 250,000, has “exploded with optimism and enthusiasm” in the last five years, said Michael Baynes, an executive partner of Maxwell-Baynes, the affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate in southwestern France. He credited Bordeaux’s restaurants and its proximity to the beach and wine country, as well as the high-speed train.

Thanks to limited supply and increased demand, especially from French buyers outside Bordeaux, properties tend to sell quickly and prices have been rising, agents said. Parisians, in particular, have been moving to Bordeaux and working remotely, said Aymeric Sabatié-Garat, associate director of the Bordeaux branch of Barnes, a luxury real estate agency.

This year, there are about half as many luxury properties — homes priced at 1 million euros or more — on the market as there were in 2015, Mr. Sabatié-Garat said. And since 2014, luxury prices have gone up between 50 and 60 percent, he estimated, while in the general market, where there is more supply, prices increased by only about 20 percent during the same period.

Etienne Delpech, a broker with Bordeaux Sotheby’s International Realty, which has the listing for this house, said the first half of 2017 was busy for his agency, with homes selling quickly and usually at asking price. Since the end of the summer, though, some properties have been discounted during negotiations or lingered on the market, he said, many of them in the city center, where prices have increased the most.

Desirable areas include Le Triangle d’Or, the blocks around the Public Garden and the fashionable Chartrons neighborhood, agents said. In the most coveted places, prices of luxury properties start at 7,000 euros a square meter (or about $770 a square foot), Mr. Delpech and Mr. Sabatié-Garat said. Luxury prices throughout the city center average about 3,500 to 4,500 euros a square meter (or $380 to $490 a square foot), Mr. Baynes said.

Chateau vineyards constitute a separate market in the Bordeaux region. A small winery can be bought for 500,000 euros (or about $590,000), Mr. Baynes said, but the “vast majority” sell for between 3 million and 5 million euros (about $3.5 million to $5.9 million), while some 20 percent fetch upward of 5 million euros.

WHO BUYS IN BORDEAUX

Most home buyers in Bordeaux are French; those who buy vineyards are more likely to be foreign.

Mr. Delpech said that fewer than 10 percent of his buyers this year were from foreign countries, including Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, the United States, China and Lebanon. About half of his French buyers were local, he said, and the other half were mostly from Paris.

Mr. Baynes said that only 10 percent of his vineyard buyers were from France; 40 percent were from the United States, with the rest from other parts of Europe and Asia.

BUYING BASICS

Real estate transactions in France require a notary, and sometimes a lawyer as well — when a transaction is particularly complex, for example, or for tax optimization, or when a sale involves a residence and a business, as in the case of a working vineyard, said Vianney Rivière, managing partner of Rivière Avocats Associés, a Bordeaux firm that specializes in real estate and tax law.

For a home valued around 2 million euros, like this one, closing costs paid by the buyer — including the notary’s fees, a value-added tax on that service, stamp duty and a mortgage registration fee, if applicable — would total around 7 to 8 percent of the purchase price, Mr. Rivière said.

LANGUAGES AND CURRENCY

French; euro (1 euro = $1.18)

TAXES AND FEES

The annual property taxes on this house are 1,850 euros (about $2,200), Mr. Nivaux said.

The New York Times



Saudi Arabia Stockpiles Surplus Oil Production to Face Global Crises

Employees at Aramco (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Employees at Aramco (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Stockpiles Surplus Oil Production to Face Global Crises

Employees at Aramco (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Employees at Aramco (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia has long followed a clear and transparent approach to preserving stability in global energy markets. Historically, it has consistently adhered to all decisions issued by the OPEC+ alliance and played a leading role alongside other producers to ensure compliance and promote the collective good.

Recently, the Kingdom briefly increased production volumes. However, the additional output was neither marketed domestically nor exported abroad. Instead, it was directed as a precautionary measure to strengthen strategic reserves, improve supply flows between the country’s eastern and western regions, and rebalance stocks held in overseas storage facilities.

Asharq Al-Awsat reached out to energy specialists to understand the significance of this move for energy security. Experts explained that building strategic reserves allows Saudi Arabia to respond swiftly to customer needs in the event of political crises, regional wars, adverse weather, or other unforeseen disruptions.

Fouad Al-Zayer, former head of data services at OPEC and an energy expert, said the Kingdom maintains millions of barrels in storage both inside and outside its borders. These reserves serve as a buffer during emergencies, enabling the country to compensate for supply shortfalls within a short timeframe. He emphasized that this stored crude is strategically critical in the face of geopolitical tensions and conflicts.

According to Al-Zayer, Saudi Arabia relies on an extraordinary reserve capacity unmatched by any other producer. The country currently produces more than 9 million barrels per day, with the capability to pump even higher volumes if needed. He noted that Saudi reserves alone account for 3 million barrels per day out of roughly 5 million barrels in global spare capacity, underscoring Riyadh’s central role in stabilizing markets and upholding its commitments under OPEC+ agreements.

He added that Saudi Arabia also hosts the International Energy Forum, which works to improve data quality and transparency in the sector. In June, the Kingdom’s output reached about 9 million barrels per day, with the modest increase attributed to logistical considerations. Al-Zayer stressed that it is common for producers to temporarily boost production to support maintenance operations or replenish storage, without impacting the broader market, since these barrels are not immediately traded.

He reiterated that Saudi Arabia has always honored OPEC+ production targets and has played a pivotal role in encouraging other members to meet their quotas.

Meanwhile, Dr. Mohammed Al-Sabban, former senior adviser to the Saudi Minister of Petroleum, explained that the Kingdom has consistently proven itself a reliable and secure supplier to global energy markets. He noted that Saudi Arabia’s recent statement clarified the reasons behind the June production uptick, emphasizing that the additional oil was neither destined for local consumption nor for export but was solely intended to refill domestic and foreign storage. He said such measures do not represent any breach of commitments, unlike the practices of some other countries.

Al-Sabban pointed out that Saudi Arabia has often gone beyond required cuts to help stabilize markets. Even the recent production increases, he said, fall within the scope of voluntary adjustments agreed upon by OPEC+ members. He noted that in July, Saudi Arabia raised production in line with credible studies indicating the market could absorb these volumes without disruption.