The average price per m² in Criel-sur-Mer is 2 820 €/m² for an apartment, based on actual notarised (DVF) sales. About 20 transactions are recorded each year.
Ambience illustration of Criel-sur-Mer, on the Côte d'Albâtre in the Seine-Maritime.
In Criel-sur-Mer, the reference price reaches 2 820 €/m² for apartments. That average covers a coastal market split between the town in the Yères valley, the seafront of Criel-Plage and the seaside hamlet of Mesnil-Val, where holiday houses and second homes weigh heavily. Volume stays moderate, at around twenty apartment sales a year, which gives weight to each transaction. The figures rest on the DVF database, which lists sales actually registered before notaries, and therefore reflect prices recorded on this stretch of the Côte d'Albâtre.
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 market in Criel-sur-Mer is carried first of all by its seaside vocation. Set on the Côte d'Albâtre, between Dieppe and the bay of the Somme, the commune draws holiday buyers from the large regional cities and from the Paris region, on top of its permanent residents. This second-home demand, sensitive to closeness to the sea and to a view over the Channel, supports prices despite a modest population of around 2 500 inhabitants. Summer visitor numbers, inherited from a long-standing seaside tourism going back to the arrival of the train in 1872, are the base of the local market.
The second driver lies in the constraints specific to the coast and in the low volume of sales. The retreat of the chalk cliffs, more than a metre a year, limits development on the seafront and focuses attention on the safest and best-placed sectors. With around twenty apartment sales a year, the market stays narrow and each transaction weighs on the average, hence the value of watching the trend over several years. The scarcity of properties with a direct view over the Channel, against lasting holiday demand, keeps the price levels observed.
Criel-sur-Mer sits above Dieppe and at the level of the neighbouring resorts around Le Tréport, while staying clearly below the most prized seaside places of the bay of the Somme such as Saint-Valery-sur-Somme.
Criel-sur-Mer appears in the records as early as 1059 in the form Criolium. Set at the mouth of the Yères, on the Côte d'Albâtre, the village grew first as a fishing port, whose maritime activity is recorded at least until the 16th century. The site is framed by tall chalk cliffs, among the highest on the Normandy coast, which rise to around 107 metres and retreat by more than a metre a year under erosion. This geography of a valley opening onto the Channel, between estuary and cliffs, has lastingly shaped the siting of the town and its hamlets.
The arrival of the railway, in 1872, transformed the commune. Rail services allowed the creation of two elegant seaside resorts, one near the mouth of the Yères, the other in the hamlet of Mesnil-Val, part of the wave of sea bathing that reached Normandy in the 19th century. The commune officially adopted the name Criel-sur-Mer in 1902. The two wars left their marks: the casino was destroyed by a storm in 1914 and the station did not survive the First World War. Tourism picked up again after the introduction of paid holidays, in 1936.
The commune keeps an older heritage that recalls its maritime and rural history. The Saint-Aubin church goes back to the 15th century, while the château de Chantereine, or manoir de Briançon, has hosted educational programmes since 2005. Today, Criel-sur-Mer remains a commune of fishing, tourism and small industry, organised around its two seaside sectors, Criel-Plage and Mesnil-Val, which alternate shingle beaches and chalk cliffs. Some twenty kilometres north-east of Dieppe, it lives to the rhythm of summer visitors, which weighs heavily on its property market.
According to INSEE, the French national statistics institute, Criel-sur-Mer has 2 527 inhabitants, in a coastal commune of the Côte d'Albâtre. The market stands out for the weight of second homes, characteristic of seaside resorts: alongside permanent residents, many buyers come from the large regional cities or from the Paris region for a pied-à-terre by the sea. Holiday houses and apartments with a view over the Channel account for a large share of sales. This double demand, between year-round residents and holiday buyers, supports prices despite a modest population, and clearly sets Criel-sur-Mer apart from the rural communes of the Seine-Maritime hinterland.
The reference price for an apartment in Criel-sur-Mer is 2 820 €/m². That amount corresponds to the average of recent sales registered in the notaries' DVF database. It reflects a coastal market in which second homes play an important part. The actual price of a property depends on its condition, its floor area, closeness to the sea and its location, between the town in the Yères valley and the seaside sectors of Criel-Plage and Mesnil-Val.
Yes, strongly. As in many resorts of the Côte d'Albâtre, a large share of homes are second homes. Buyers from the large regional cities or from the Paris region look for a pied-à-terre by the sea, which adds holiday demand to that of permanent residents. This seasonal pressure supports prices, in particular for properties close to the coast, and sets the commune apart from the rural markets of the hinterland.
The commune is organised in three parts: the town, set in the Yères valley, the seafront of Criel-Plage, at the mouth of the river, and the seaside hamlet of Mesnil-Val, further south-west, framed by tall cliffs. The most sought-after properties are those offering a view over the Channel or quick access to the beaches. The geography of cliffs and shingle creates clearly distinct sectors, whose price levels vary with immediate closeness to the coast.
It is an element to take into account. The chalk cliffs of Criel-sur-Mer are among the highest on the Côte d'Albâtre and retreat by more than a metre a year under marine erosion. This mainly concerns plots close to the shoreline and is the subject of monitoring and coastal management measures. Before any purchase on the seafront, it is wise to find out about the exposed areas and the planning rules that apply.
The commune lies some twenty kilometres north-east of Dieppe and a few kilometres from Le Tréport and Mers-les-Bains, which form the nearest urban hub. It lives largely to the rhythm of summer visitors, the car remaining the dominant means of travel. That position on the Côte d'Albâtre, between Dieppe and the bay of the Somme, adds to its tourist appeal and feeds demand from holiday buyers coming from further afield.
This analysis is published by Immover, an independent observatory founded by Antony Barbier. Data sourced from official sources (DVF, INSEE, Notaries of France).