The average price per m² in La Bourboule is 1 859 €/m² for an apartment, based on actual notarised (DVF) sales. About 59 transactions are recorded each year.
Atmospheric illustration of La Bourboule, a former spa resort in the Monts Dore, in the Puy-de-Dôme.
In La Bourboule, the average price of apartments comes out at around 1 859 €/m², based on the DVF sales actually registered with notaries (DVF is the French record of notarised property sales). This affordable level comes from the nature of the housing stock, largely inherited from the golden age of the spa: former hotels and Belle Époque buildings converted into apartments, cure residences and more modest homes along the Dordogne. The municipality, set at a little over 800 metres of altitude in the upper Dordogne valley, lives to the rhythm of spa treatment and mountain tourism, with a notable share of second homes. Demand comes from buyers attached to the Sancy setting, from spa visitors and from families looking for a base in Auvergne. The condition of the property, its floor level, its view and its distance from the thermal baths and the parc Fenestre explain the value gaps from one home to another.
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 La Bourboule market reflects the situation of a former major spa resort: a plentiful supply of apartments, inherited from the golden age of the cure, against demand that is mainly touristic. The sales recorded each year in the DVF data mostly involve older homes, whose value depends on condition, location and view. The decline of the permanent population and the weight of properties in need of renovation keep prices affordable for a mountain municipality.
Several factors pull in opposite directions. On one side, the lasting appeal of the Sancy range, the Belle Époque heritage and the persistence of spa activity support demand for second homes. On the other, the abundance of older housing, the distance from employment areas and the seasonality of the local economy limit the rise in values. The result is a stable market, positioned clearly below the municipalities of the Clermont-Ferrand conurbation.
La Bourboule shows prices below those of Le Mont-Dore, its spa neighbour in the Sancy range, and below those of Besse-et-Saint-Anastaise. The municipality also remains more affordable than Clermont-Ferrand, the Auvergne metropolis.
La Bourboule draws its history from its waters, exploited since Gallo-Roman times and among the richest in silica in France. Long limited to the hamlet of La Roche des Fées, the site took on another dimension in the 19th century: the municipality was created in 1875, detached from neighbouring Le Mont-Dore, to make use of the thermal wealth of its volcanic subsoil in the upper Dordogne valley.
At the turn of the 20th century, the town turned into a spa resort of national renown, specialising in the treatment of respiratory and skin conditions. Villas, grand hotels, a casino and a vast park were built there, in a Belle Époque architecture that durably marks the urban landscape. In the first half of the century, La Bourboule ranked among the major resorts of the Massif Central, rivalling nearby Le Mont-Dore.
Spa activity declined over the course of the 20th century, but the municipality has kept a twofold role as a cure resort and a family mountain destination, backed onto the Sancy range. Its architectural heritage, its parks and its position in the Dordogne valley make it today a tourist centre of the Monts Dore, whose economy and property market remain marked by the season and by second homes.
La Bourboule has around 1 727 inhabitants, a figure that reflects the decline of a population once carried by spa activity. The market is aimed at second-home buyers drawn by the Sancy range and the Dordogne valley, at spa visitors and retirees attached to the mountain setting, and at Auvergne families looking for an affordable base. The permanent population, older than average, is joined by a seasonal tourist clientele. Demand focuses largely on the apartments created from the former hotel stock, whose abundance weighs on values.
The average price of apartments in La Bourboule is 1 859 €/m², based on the DVF transactions registered with notaries. This average covers gaps linked to the condition of the property, often old, to its floor level, its view and its distance from the thermal baths and the parc Fenestre. A renovated apartment in a Belle Époque building and a home in need of refurbishment do not trade at the same level.
The housing stock is plentiful and largely inherited from the golden age of the spa, with many older apartments created from hotels and Belle Époque buildings. This large supply, combined with the decline of the permanent population and the distance from major employment centres, contains values, despite the tourist appeal of the Sancy range and the resort's heritage.
The municipality lies in the Puy-de-Dôme, in the upper Dordogne valley, at the foot of the Sancy range. It neighbours Le Mont-Dore, the other large resort of the Monts Dore. It is reached by road from Clermont-Ferrand; La Bourboule also has a station on a line serving the valley, which connects it to the rest of Auvergne.
Yes. The twofold role of cure resort and family mountain destination feeds demand for second homes and bases that shapes the market, alongside a year-round population. This reliance on tourism makes sales sensitive to visitor numbers. The rules applying to furnished tourist lets should be checked with the town hall before any letting project.
The benchmark price of 1 859 €/m² covers apartments, very present in the town's Belle Époque fabric. Houses, rarer, suit buyers looking for floor area and outdoor space, and trade according to their location and their condition. The choice depends mainly on intended use, main residence, cure stay or a base for skiing and hiking.
This analysis is published by Immover, an independent observatory founded by Antony Barbier. Data sourced from official sources (DVF, INSEE, Notaries of France).