The average price per m² in Auriol is 3 282 €/m² for an apartment, based on actual notarised (DVF) sales. For a house or villa, it is 4 788 €/m². About 48 transactions are recorded each year.
Atmospheric illustration of Auriol, in the Huveaune valley, in the east of the Bouches-du-Rhône.
The average price of apartments in Auriol stands at 3 282 €/m², based on DVF transactions, the French notarised sales database, actually registered with notaries. Set at the eastern end of the Bouches-du-Rhône, in the Huveaune valley, between the Sainte-Baume massif to the south and the Regagnas to the north, Auriol is a residential municipality close to Aubagne and to the Marseille conurbation. The house market sits markedly higher, at around 4 788 €/m², which reflects the weight of the detached home and of the Provençal mas on a still largely rural territory. Demand comes mainly from households working in Aubagne, in Marseille or in the valley, looking for a greener setting at a contained price. Location, plot size, aspect and the presence of outdoor space weigh heavily on the value of a property in Auriol.
House : 4 788 €/m²
Prices from the DVF file (Demandes de valeurs foncières, published by the DGFiP), transactions actually recorded at the notary at municipality level. Cross-referenced with the Notaires de France - INSEE indices. Learn more about our methodology.
The Auriol market is closely tied to that of eastern Marseille and the Huveaune valley. A municipality of around thirteen thousand inhabitants, it benefits from the residential pressure bearing on the whole Aubagne and Marseille basin, fed by households looking for houses with land and a greener setting. Demand focuses above all on the detached home, which explains the marked gap between house prices and apartment prices.
Several factors support the appeal of the municipality. The closeness of Aubagne and Marseille, the setting of hills between the Sainte-Baume and the Regagnas, and prices more contained than on the nearby coast are advantages for buyers. Conversely, the relative distance from dense employment centres and the dependence on the car can weigh on some profiles. The market therefore remains driven by family buyers, as sensitive to the quality of the living environment as to the budget.
Auriol sits in the middle of the residential municipalities of the hinterland between Aubagne and the pays d'Aix, at a level close to Allauch, above denser towns such as Gardanne and behind the neighbouring coastal municipalities.
The territory of Auriol has been inhabited for a very long time: traces of occupation go back to the Neolithic, and Antiquity left the mark of Phoenician then Roman settlements, on an important route running along the floor of the Huveaune valley. The castral site of Auriol is mentioned as early as the year one thousand and became, during the eleventh century, the main town of the whole upper Huveaune valley.
For a long time, the valley floor was occupied by marshes, kept in place by tufa barriers that hindered the flow of the Huveaune. Once those obstacles had gone and the land had been drained, the municipality lived to the rhythm of a Provençal farming economy, made of crops, vines and olive trees on the slopes rising towards the Sainte-Baume and the Regagnas.
In the twentieth century, Auriol gradually turned into a residential municipality of the Aubagne and Marseille area, without losing its rural character. Housing estates developed around the old village, while part of the territory remained given over to farmland and natural spaces. The municipality thus combines an old heritage, a setting of hills and a growing integration into the Marseille conurbation.
Auriol has around 13 000 inhabitants. Its housing stock is dominated by the detached house: villas, mas and properties with land make up most of the built fabric, around a denser old centre that gathers a few blocks of flats and collective housing. Main residences account for the large majority of the stock, with a high share of owner-occupiers, consistent with the profile of a family, peri-urban municipality. Buyers are mostly working households employed in Aubagne, in Marseille or in the Huveaune valley, looking for a greener living environment and larger floor areas than in the neighbouring towns, on a controlled budget.
The average price of apartments in Auriol is 3 282 €/m², based on DVF transactions actually completed before notaries. The house market sits higher, at around 4 788 €/m², driven by the detached home and by properties with land. These averages cover wide gaps depending on location, between the old village, the housing estates and the more rural areas, as well as on the condition and aspect of the property.
In Auriol, houses trade at around 4 788 €/m² against 3 282 €/m² for apartments. This gap is explained by the nature of the municipality, largely residential and rural, where the house with a garden is the most sought-after property. Building land remains limited by the relief and by farmland, which supports the value of individual properties, while apartments are concentrated mainly in the old centre.
Auriol lies east of Aubagne, in the continuation of the Huveaune valley, and remains linked to Marseille by that road axis. This position, away from the dense city but within its employment area, is one of the drivers of local property demand: it attracts households that want to stay close to the Marseille conurbation while enjoying a quieter and greener environment.
Auriol is today both residential and rural. It has kept an old village, farmland and a setting of hills between the Sainte-Baume and the Regagnas, while taking in many housing estates linked to the closeness of Aubagne and Marseille. It is this compromise between nature and access to employment that shapes its housing market, heavily oriented towards the family house.
Auriol appeals particularly to families, thanks to its houses with land and its Provençal living environment. The benchmark price of 3 282 €/m² on apartments remains more moderate than in several neighbouring coastal municipalities, which makes it an option for first-time buyers ready to move a little further from Marseille. The trade-off lies in a market dominated by the house, which is dearer, and where location makes a real difference.
This analysis is published by Immover, an independent observatory founded by Antony Barbier. Data sourced from official sources (DVF, INSEE, Notaries of France).