The average price per m² in Grandcamp-Maisy is 2 373 €/m² for an apartment, based on actual notarised (DVF) sales. About 28 transactions are recorded each year.
Mood illustration of Grandcamp-Maisy, a fishing port of the Bessin, in the Calvados.
In Grandcamp-Maisy, the average apartment price stands at 2 373 €/m², based on the sales actually registered in the DVF database, which records the transactions completed before notaries. That level reflects the market of a small seaside resort of the Bessin, where the stock remains dominated by houses, from the Belle Époque villas of the seafront to the detached homes of the hinterland. Apartments, fewer in number, are concentrated near the harbour and the beaches. Closeness to the water, the view, the condition of the property and its energy performance make values vary widely. This notarial figure gives a municipal benchmark; a reliable valuation then rests on comparable properties, assessed case by case.
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.
Grandcamp-Maisy lives to the rhythm of the sea and the seasons. A small fishing port of the Bessin, known for its king scallop, the municipality combines a real maritime activity with visitor numbers carried by the D-Day landing beaches and the closeness of the Pointe du Hoc. That double appeal sustains second-home demand from Normandy and the Paris region. Properties close to the harbour and the seafront concentrate value, which widens the gap with housing further back, in the hinterland and the old village of Maisy.
On this small market, the number of sales remains modest and prices can vary widely from one transaction to another depending on location and on the condition of the property. Distance from the beach, the view and energy performance govern most values: a well-placed dwelling with a decent energy rating finds a buyer, while an energy-hungry property trades at a discount. Dependence on holiday demand and the weight of remembrance tourism remain the main factors of sensitivity in the local market.
Grandcamp-Maisy sits above Saint-Lô, the neighbouring inland prefecture town, at a level close to Bayeux, but below the more popular landing-beach resorts such as Courseulles-sur-Mer.
Grandcamp and Maisy are two former villages recorded from the Middle Ages, the first under the Latin form Grandis Campus in 1082, the second under the name Mezy in 1155. Around 1180, Henri II Plantagenêt granted Guillaume du Hommet several fiefs, Maisy among them, confirmed by Richard Coeur de Lion in 1190. In 1554, Grandcamp became the seat of a military captaincy, and the coast was fortified in the 18th century with the fort Samson, a work of Vauban inspiration built around 1746. These early settlements show the strategic value of this shoreline open onto the baie des Veys and the Channel.
In 1824, Grandcamp merged with Létanville, then took in 1890 the name Grandcamp-les-Bains to assert its tourist vocation. Between 1880 and 1930, the municipality became a well-known seaside resort, frequented by the Paris middle classes, who left there many Belle Époque villas still visible on the seafront. Fishing structured local life in parallel: a refuge basin was built in 1926 to shelter the fleet. The harbour, the sea wall and the architecture of the town keep the trace of that double identity, between seaside holidaymaking and maritime activity, which still shapes the landscape of the municipality.
The area holds a particular place in the history of the 1944 landings. The municipality lies next to the Pointe du Hoc, stormed on 6 June by the American Rangers, and housed the Maisy battery, a German artillery position. Grandcamp was liberated on 9 June 1944 after hard fighting, and General de Gaulle spoke there on 14 June from the place de la République. Grandcamp-les-Bains and Maisy joined together in 1972 to form Grandcamp-Maisy, a merger completed in 1992. The municipality lives today on fishing, notably the king scallop, and on remembrance tourism.
Grandcamp-Maisy has around 1 520 year-round inhabitants, according to INSEE, the French national statistics institute, a population that rises markedly in the summer season. The property market bears the mark of the coast: according to INSEE, close to half of dwellings are second homes, a sign of the seaside appeal of the municipality. The stock remains very largely made up of houses, which account for around two thirds of dwellings, apartments being found mainly near the harbour and the beaches. Owner-occupiers are in the majority. Buyers mix retired people and working households settled year-round, Normandy families and second-home buyers coming in particular from the Paris region, drawn by the Bessin coast and the closeness of the D-Day landing beaches.
The average apartment price in Grandcamp-Maisy is 2 373 €/m², based on the DVF transactions completed before notaries. That average covers varied properties, from housing close to the harbour to small blocks further back. Closeness to the sea, the view, the storey and the condition of the property explain most of the gaps. In a municipality where houses dominate, a reliable valuation rests on comparable sales rather than on the average alone.
The municipality is organised between the seafront and the harbour on one side, the hinterland and the old village of Maisy on the other. Seafront properties, Belle Époque villas and dwellings with a view, are the most sought after and the most expensive. Moving away from the shore, inland and towards the hamlets, prices ease. Distance from the beach and the harbour remains the first criterion of value on this coastal market.
Yes, largely. According to INSEE, close to half of the dwellings in Grandcamp-Maisy are second homes, a proportion typical of the coastal municipalities of Normandy. That holiday demand, coming in particular from the Paris region, bears on a supply limited by the size of the municipality and by coastal protection. It supports prices, above all for properties close to the sea, which are rarer and more contested.
The stock is very largely made up of houses, which form around two thirds of dwellings according to INSEE. Apartments, fewer in number, are found above all near the harbour and the beaches, and interest buyers of a pied-à-terre or of a second home. The choice depends on the project: a house for a year-round move or for a family, an apartment for lighter seasonal use. Every property is valued according to its location and its condition.
The municipality is subject to the Coastal Act, which protects the shore, frames the extension of urbanisation and limits building near the sea. That constraint durably restricts the supply of beachfront property and contributes to firm prices on the seafront. Before buying or carrying out works near the shore, it is prudent to consult the local planning scheme and the easements at the town hall to know what is really allowed.
This analysis is published by Immover, an independent observatory founded by Antony Barbier. Data sourced from official sources (DVF, INSEE, Notaries of France).