The average price per m² in Grézieu-la-Varenne is 3 826 €/m² for an apartment, based on actual notarised (DVF) sales. About 21 transactions are recorded each year.
Atmospheric illustration of Grézieu-la-Varenne, in the monts du Lyonnais.
In Grézieu-la-Varenne, the average price reaches 3 826 €/m² for an apartment. This level reflects the appeal of the residential municipalities of the western Lyon area, valued by families for their green setting a short distance from Lyon. The stock mixes old houses in the village centre, houses on suburban estates and more recent apartment schemes. The figure rests on DVF data, the French record of notarised property sales, that is, the transactions actually registered with notaries, and not on prices advertised in listings. As the volume of sales remains limited in a municipality of this size, the average can move noticeably from one period to the next depending on the properties traded.
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 momentum of Grézieu-la-Varenne rests on its place within the residential area west of Lyon. The population has been multiplied more than ninefold since the end of the eighteenth century and continues to grow, driven by families leaving Lyon for a greener setting. This demand translated into strong suburban development on the hillsides. The protection of the farmland of the monts du Lyonnais now limits available land, which concentrates buyers on the existing stock and keeps prices at a level close to that of the most sought-after neighbouring municipalities.
The appeal rests on the combination of a green plateau environment and immediate closeness to the metropolitan area, reachable by road in about thirty minutes depending on traffic. The absence of a working station is nevertheless a limit, shifting most journeys onto the car and buses. Differences in altitude, between the village and the heights, set areas and views apart. As in other municipalities of this size, the low number of annual sales calls for caution in reading averages, since a handful of transactions can noticeably change the figure shown.
Grézieu-la-Varenne sits at a level close to Chaponost, above Sainte-Foy-lès-Lyon, but below Charbonnières-les-Bains, which is more highly rated.
The name Grézieu probably derives from the Gallo-Roman family name Gratius, recorded in the form Grasiaco in 927 and then Graisieu in 1214. The first church is said to have been founded as early as 913 by Guillaume le Pieux. The suffix la Varenne was added in 1278 to distinguish the municipality from Grézieu-le-Marché, and is thought to refer to a sandy and stony soil. Attached to the royal domain along with the Lyonnais in 1312 under Philippe le Bel, the territory suffered the depredations of the Tard-Venus, companies of mercenaries, between 1360 and 1365. The église Saint-Roch keeps baptismal fonts from the eleventh century.
Construction of the present château began in 1598, while the château de La Barge and former medieval fortifications complete the built heritage. Long a farming municipality, it had only about 246 inhabitants at the end of the seventeenth century. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, it developed an unusual laundry and bleaching trade serving Lyon: the linen of the big city was washed and whitened in the small valleys of the western Lyon area, drawing on the water and the meadows. This speciality marked the local landscape and economy before the municipality shifted towards a residential role.
Population growth accelerated in the twentieth century. Grézieu-la-Varenne went from 696 inhabitants in 1793 to 4 133 in 1999, then to 6 472 at the most recent census, with a density now high for a plateau municipality. This development rested on the closeness of Lyon, to the west, and on the spread of suburban housing in the monts du Lyonnais. A member of the communauté de communes des Vallons du Lyonnais, an inter-municipal authority, the municipality has been twinned with Finale Emilia, in Italy, since 1966. Its altitude, between 240 and 589 metres, shapes hillside areas with distinct characters.
The Grézieu-la-Varenne market is aimed first of all at working families employed in the Lyon metropolitan area, looking for a greener setting and for a house with a garden. According to INSEE, the French statistics institute, the municipality brings together about 6 472 inhabitants and its stock is very largely made up of main residences, with a clear predominance of the detached house over the apartment. Owner-occupiers are widely represented, which reflects a stable residential profile. Buyers often come from Lyon and from the denser municipalities of the western Lyon area, drawn by the quiet of the monts du Lyonnais while staying a short distance from the city. First-time buyers and families in need of more space form the core of demand.
The average price in Grézieu-la-Varenne stands at 3 826 €/m² for an apartment, based on DVF data drawn from the sales registered with notaries. This average relates to a market of modest size, where a handful of annual transactions is enough to move it. The actual price of a property depends on its floor area, its condition, its location in the village centre or on a housing estate, and the presence of outdoor space, particularly sought after in this municipality of the western Lyon area.
The municipality combines an old village centre, arranged around the église Saint-Roch and its stone buildings, with wide suburban areas spread over the hillsides between 240 and 589 metres of altitude. The recent housing estates concentrate the detached house with a garden, while a few apartment schemes are found near the centre and the shops. The château and the estate of La Barge recall the seigneurial past. The choice of an area often comes down to a trade-off between closeness to services and the quiet of the rural fringes.
The municipality lies west of Lyon, in the monts du Lyonnais. It has no working station: the former railway of the western Lyon area towards Vaugneray, closed in the middle of the twentieth century, no longer serves the sector. Links towards the metropolitan area are mainly by road and by bus, the nearest tram-train stop being in a neighbouring municipality. This dependence on the car weighs on the residential choice of working households.
Yes. Grézieu-la-Varenne developed through housing estates, so that the detached house with a garden largely dominates the stock. Apartments remain a minority and are concentrated in a few schemes close to the centre. This structure directs demand towards family houses, which are much sought after, while new-build apartments offer an alternative for a first purchase or a tighter budget. The protection of the farmland of the monts du Lyonnais limits building land and supports price levels.
Several factors play a part: the closeness of Lyon and of its employment market, the quality of life of the monts du Lyonnais, a green setting valued by families and a supply of land constrained by the protection of farmland. Belonging to a sought-after residential sector of the western Lyon area sustains demand. Conversely, the absence of a direct rail service moderates the appeal for households without a car. On a market of a few sales a year, averages remain sensitive to the quality of the properties sold.
This analysis is published by Immover, an independent observatory founded by Antony Barbier. Data sourced from official sources (DVF, INSEE, Notaries of France).