The average price per m² in Indre is 2 760 €/m² for an apartment, based on actual notarised (DVF) sales. About 14 transactions are recorded each year.
Atmospheric illustration of Indre, in Loire-Atlantique, a riverside municipality on the Loire west of Nantes.
The average price recorded in Indre stands at 2 760 €/m². This average covers a housing stock dominated by detached houses: according to INSEE, the French statistics institute, around two thirds of the municipality's dwellings are houses, against one third apartments, and main residences account for nearly 95 % of the stock. The municipality reads as three former villages on the banks of the Loire, Basse-Indre and Haute-Indre on the north bank, Indret on the south bank, which do not sell at the same level depending on proximity to the river, the age of the buildings and the type of property. The figures come from DVF data, the French notarised sales database, which lists the transactions actually registered with notaries; the market remains narrow, with a limited number of sales each year.
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 Indre market remains narrow and depends first on its place within the Nantes conurbation. With around fifteen sales a year, each transaction weighs on the average, which calls for caution when reading year-on-year variations. The municipality benefits from the pressure of the Nantes market, which pushes households to look a little further from the centre for affordable housing, while keeping its own Loire-side identity, distinct from the large neighbouring municipalities of the inner ring.
Two factors weigh on the coming years. The scarcity of building land, in a small municipality constrained by the river and by industrial sites, limits new supply and concentrates trading on the existing stock. At the same time, the energy renovation of the old buildings in the former working-class villages is becoming an increasingly important negotiating criterion. Demand, for its part, remains driven by the proximity of Nantes and the appeal of a riverside setting.
A riverside municipality on the Loire backing onto the Nantes conurbation, Indre compares mainly with the municipalities bordering it to the west of Nantes. Prices there are more moderate than in the central city, with gaps that depend on the dominant property type and on proximity to the river.
Indre owes its name and its shape to the Loire. The municipality was born from three islands in the river, Basse-Indre, Haute-Indre and Indret, which earned it the nickname of the town of three islands. Through the river development works of the 18th and 19th centuries, the islets of Basse-Indre and Haute-Indre were joined to the north bank, on the Nantes side, while Indret was joined to the south bank. The municipality, one of the smallest in the Nantes metropolitan authority by area, thus stretches on both sides of the estuary, around eight kilometres downstream from Nantes.
Its history is above all industrial. At the end of the 18th century, Indret hosted a royal manufactory, whose cannon-boring workshop left buildings that can still be identified. The site became a shipbuilding establishment, now operated by Naval Group for ship propulsion. On the other bank, the Basse-Indre forges, founded at the beginning of the 19th century, specialised in tinplate and continue their activity under the banner of a major steelmaker. A fertiliser plant was added in the 1920s south of the village. This working-class industrial imprint explains the presence of townhouses and housing linked to the companies.
The Loire remains at the heart of local life. With no bridge on this stretch of the river, a ferry provides the crossing between Basse-Indre and Indret, continuing a long-standing crossing tradition. Basse-Indre-Saint-Herblain station, on the regional line linking Nantes to Saint-Nazaire, serves the north of the municipality. This dual service, by river and by rail, structures residents' journeys towards the conurbation.
Indre is a municipality of permanent residents. According to INSEE, it has around 4 160 inhabitants and a housing stock in which second homes account for only one per cent of dwellings: people do not buy here for occasional use, but to live year-round. Detached houses dominate, with nearly two thirds of the stock, and a clear majority of households own their home, the rest being mainly tenants. Buyers are therefore mainly households from the Nantes area, first-time buyers and families, employees of local industries, of services and of the neighbouring metropolis, drawn by a Loire-side municipality close to Nantes that remains human in scale.
The average price recorded is 2 760 €/m², calculated from transactions registered with notaries and published in the DVF database. It is a municipal average, which aggregates different properties: a townhouse in a former working-class village, a more recent detached house and an apartment do not belong to the same segment. The condition of the property, its floor area, the presence of outdoor space and proximity to the Loire explain a good part of the gaps around this average.
These three former villages now form a single municipality, spread over both banks of the Loire. Basse-Indre and Haute-Indre, on the north bank, are the most populated and concentrate most of the shops, the station and the old buildings linked to the forges. Indret, on the south bank, is marked by the shipbuilding industrial site. Immediate proximity to the river, the age of the houses and transport links weigh on values from one area to another.
Both markets exist, but in unequal proportions. According to INSEE, houses account for around two thirds of the municipality's dwellings and apartments for one third. Houses, often townhouses or detached houses, are therefore the most common offer, while apartments are found mainly in the village centres. The choice depends on budget, the need for outdoor space and the search time, which is longer for a house on a narrow market.
Indre is around eight kilometres downstream from Nantes. Basse-Indre-Saint-Herblain station, on the Nantes-Saint-Nazaire line, links the municipality to the conurbation by regional train. With no bridge on this stretch of the river, a ferry provides the crossing of the Loire between Basse-Indre and Indret. This proximity to Nantes, combined with the rail service, supports demand from households who work in the metropolis while looking for a Loire-side municipality.
The location on the banks of the Loire justifies consulting the risk prevention plan, particularly for flood exposure on plots close to the river. The municipality's industrial past calls for checking the soil history in certain areas. For an old stock of townhouses, the energy performance certificate and the general condition of the home are negotiating points to examine. These checks are carried out upstream, before making any offer.
This analysis is published by Immover, an independent observatory founded by Antony Barbier. Data sourced from official sources (DVF, INSEE, Notaries of France).