The average price per m² in Comines is 2 419 €/m² for an apartment, based on actual notarised (DVF) sales. About 22 transactions are recorded each year.
Atmospheric illustration of Comines, a former textile town of the Nord set on the Lys, on the Belgian border.
The average price recorded in Comines stands at 2 419 €/m². This average covers a stock dominated by houses, between brick town houses inherited from the textile past and detached homes on more recent estates, apartments remaining more limited and concentrated around the centre. The gaps around this average come mainly from the type of property, its floor area, its condition, its energy performance and its location, from the rebuilt centre to the outlying neighbourhoods. These figures come from the DVF database, the French record of notarised sales, which lists the sales actually signed before notaries, and give a municipal benchmark to be refined property by property.
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 Comines market rests on its membership of the Métropole européenne de Lille, whose northern edge it occupies, along the Lys. Demand comes mainly from families and working people of the Lille conurbation looking for a house with outdoor space at a more affordable price level than in the municipalities close to the metropolitan core. The border position with Belgium and the setting offered by the banks of the Lys also weigh in the trade-offs. Demand therefore bears mainly on houses, which make up most of the available stock.
Supply remains marked by the already built-up character of the municipality and by an older stock inherited from the textile period, where the energy performance of houses has become a negotiating criterion. Buyers trade off between town houses close to the centre, some in need of renovation, and the more recent detached homes on the outlying estates. Transport services, now provided by bus since the end of the train, and the closeness of Belgium also enter the calculation. The limited share of apartments directs most transactions towards detached housing.
On the northern edge of the Lille metropolitan area, Comines shows a price level above that of Halluin, another border town on the Lys, but below that of Roncq and Wambrechies, more highly rated municipalities of the conurbation.
Comines occupies both banks of the Lys, the river that today marks the border with Belgium. Until 1668, the town formed a single entity with its Belgian part, today's Comines-Warneton; the Treaty of Utrecht of 1713 confirmed the split along the Lys and gave rise to two separate municipalities, one French and one Belgian. The name, Flemish in form (Comen), recalls the roots of the town in the area of the former Low Countries. Comines gave its name to Philippe de Commynes, a statesman and chronicler of Flemish origin born around 1445, whose Mémoires rank among the great texts of the late Middle Ages.
From 1830 onwards, Comines established itself as a textile town, with the development of ribbon making, weaving and thread spinning. Ribbon manufacture, begun as early as the start of the 18th century by entrepreneurs such as Philippe Hovyn, became the speciality that shaped the economy and the built fabric of the town. The opening of the station in 1876, on the line linking Lille to Comines, accompanied this industrial rise and connected the town to the departmental capital. That period left an urban fabric of brick workers' houses and former production sites, whose imprint remains visible in the neighbourhoods close to the centre.
During the First World War, Comines was almost entirely destroyed: the civilian population was evacuated on 27, 28 and 29 May 1917, and the town suffered shelling and demolition until the armistice. The reconstruction of the 1920s gave the town its belfry, rebuilt in 1924 by the architect Louis Marie Cordonnier and now listed as UNESCO World Heritage, and the église Saint-Chrysole, a neo-Byzantine building inaugurated in 1928. Comines keeps up its Fête des Louches every second Sunday in October, a tradition given its present form in 1884 around a medieval legend. The municipality is part of the Métropole européenne de Lille and of the arrondissement of Lille.
Comines has 12 731 inhabitants according to INSEE, the French statistics institute. A former textile town, the municipality has a residential stock dominated by houses, between brick town houses inherited from the industrial era and detached homes on more recent estates; apartments, more limited in number, are concentrated mainly around the centre and in a few developments. Main residences make up most of the stock, the municipality having no marked tourist role. The market addresses first of all families and working households of the Lille urban area, looking for a house with outdoor space at a more moderate price than in the heart of the conurbation. First-time buyers turn towards town houses, while apartments target more modest budgets or single people.
The average price recorded in Comines stands at 2 419 €/m², based on the sales registered with notaries and published in the DVF database, the French record of notarised sales. That figure brings together varied properties, mostly houses. The type of property, its floor area, its condition, its energy performance and its location explain most of the gaps around this average. For a reliable valuation, it is better to rely on sales of comparable properties than on the municipal average alone.
Comines lies to the north of the Lille urban area, to which it is connected by the Ilévia bus network. The station, opened in 1876 on the Lille-Comines line, has had no regular rail service since 2019, trains having been replaced by coaches. Road links connect the municipality to Lille and to the neighbouring towns of the Lys valley. This border position also places Comines in the immediate vicinity of Belgium.
Rebuilt after the First World War, Comines keeps a heritage marked by the 1920s. Its belfry, rebuilt in 1924, is listed as UNESCO World Heritage under the belfries of Belgium and France, and the église Saint-Chrysole, in neo-Byzantine style, was inaugurated in 1928. The town holds its Fête des Louches every second Sunday in October, inherited from a medieval legend. The banks of the Lys also offer a setting for walks on the Belgian border.
The Comines market is dominated by houses, between brick town houses from the textile past and more recent detached homes. Buying a house therefore matches the dominant profile of the municipality, with outdoor space and often a garage. Apartments, fewer in number, are found mainly around the centre and in a few developments, and suit more modest budgets or single people. Your choice will depend on your budget, on your need for space and on your plans.
Comines is organised around its rebuilt centre, marked by the belfry and the town hall, then spreads out into neighbourhoods of former workers' houses and into suburban estates towards the outskirts. The surroundings of the Lys and of the Belgian border form a distinct area, while the more recent zones offer houses with land. Each area has its own characteristics of built form, construction period and environment, to be examined closely according to your plans and your budget.
This analysis is published by Immover, an independent observatory founded by Antony Barbier. Data sourced from official sources (DVF, INSEE, Notaries of France).