The average price per m² in Les Pennes-Mirabeau is 3 275 €/m² for an apartment, based on actual notarised (DVF) sales. About 67 transactions are recorded each year.
Atmospheric illustration of Les Pennes-Mirabeau, between Marseille, Aix-en-Provence and the étang de Berre, in Bouches-du-Rhône.
The average price of apartments in Les Pennes-Mirabeau stands at 3 275 €/m², based on DVF transactions actually registered with notaries. This average covers a contrasting housing stock, spread across several distinct centres: the perched old village, the residential neighbourhoods of Les Cadeneaux and La Gavotte, and the detached-housing areas spread over the plateau and the hills. The municipality, set between Marseille, Aix-en-Provence and the étang de Berre, mixes recent apartment blocks, town houses and villas with land, which widens the value gaps from one area to the next. Aspect, the view over the Arbois hills, plot size, the condition of the property and closeness to the main roads make prices vary appreciably. The relief, which climbs from 70 to 270 metres, restricts buildable land in places.
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 Les Pennes-Mirabeau market remains active for a municipality of this size, with around seventy apartment sales recorded each year in the DVF data, to which house transactions must be added. This activity reflects the residential function of the municipality and its position between Marseille and Aix-en-Provence, which sustains demand from families and working households looking for more open housing. New supply remains limited: the relief, the protection of part of the Arbois plateau and scattered detached housing restrict available land and concentrate sales on resales within the existing stock.
Several factors support this price level. The closeness of the two large cities of the department, the employment areas of Marignane, of the étang de Berre and of Plan de Campagne, together with the hillside setting, sustain residential demand that goes beyond the village alone. Conversely, dependence on the metropolitan market, the place of the car and heavy traffic at peak times cap price growth and explain levels below those of Aix-en-Provence, while remaining close to those of Marseille.
Les Pennes-Mirabeau sits slightly above its neighbour Vitrolles and at a level close to Marseille, the nearest large city. The municipality remains well below Aix-en-Provence, the most expensive in the area, some fifteen kilometres away.
The municipality was long called Les Pennes, before taking the name Les Pennes-Mirabeau in 1902. The addition is said to refer either to the Comte de Mirabeau, whose family held land in the area, or to the fine view, mira beu in Provençal, offered by the former castrum. The old village grew in the Middle Ages on a height, around a castle. The château des Vento, built in 1553, still overlooks the perched village: its orientation table opens onto a panorama over the Vitrolles plateau, the étang de Berre and the chaîne de la Nerthe.
The territory is not organised around a single centre but brings together several villages and neighbourhoods with their own identity. Les Cadeneaux, whose church is close to three centuries old, and La Gavotte, marked by the Campagne Reggio estate of the 17th century and the church of Notre-Dame de l'Assomption consecrated in 1866, form the most populated centres. Le Plan des Pennes keeps a more rural character, while the hills and the plateau host scattered detached housing.
The south of the municipality borders the Arbois plateau, a vast expanse of garrigue scrubland and hills shared with several neighbouring municipalities. To the west, a large part of Plan de Campagne, one of the biggest retail parks in France, lies within the territory of Les Pennes-Mirabeau. The place is an old one: monks from the abbey of Saint-Victor in Marseille had settled there before the year one thousand, and the name campanius appears in the abbey charters of 977 and 1044. This retail and logistics activity is today an employment centre that weighs on the local economy.
Les Pennes-Mirabeau has 22 537 inhabitants according to the census of INSEE, the French statistics institute. Set in the Pays d'Aix, between Marseille, Aix-en-Provence, Vitrolles and Marignane, the municipality spreads over a vast territory of hills and plateaus, organised around several centres rather than a single one. Its market is above all residential and geared to a year-round population: working households employed in Marseille, in Aix, in the airport area of Marignane or on the neighbouring business parks, families looking for houses with land, and first-time buyers drawn by prices more measured than in the two large neighbouring cities. Properties with outdoor space, in the detached-housing neighbourhoods and close to the main roads, concentrate most of the demand.
The average price of apartments in Les Pennes-Mirabeau is 3 275 €/m², based on DVF transactions actually completed before notaries. This average covers wide gaps depending on the area, aspect, plot size, the condition of the property and its energy performance. A recent apartment close to the shops and an old house in the old village or on the hills do not trade at the same level.
The municipality is not a uniform block: it brings together several villages and neighbourhoods, from the perched old village to Les Cadeneaux and La Gavotte, through to the housing estates of the plateau and the hills. The relief is pronounced, with altitude rising from around 70 to 270 metres, and the view, the aspect as well as closeness to main roads and shops change from one area to the next. Houses with land and an open view sit at the top of the range, while older apartments remain more affordable.
The municipality is served by the A7 motorway and the roads linking Marseille to Aix-en-Provence, which places it about fifteen kilometres from each of the two cities. The Plan de Campagne retail area, partly within the municipal territory, is a major crossing point. Marseille-Provence airport, at Marignane, is very close. Traffic remains heavy at peak times around the main roads and the retail centres.
The market is more balanced than in the large neighbouring cities. The benchmark price of 3 275 €/m² applies to apartments, found mainly in residential neighbourhoods such as Les Cadeneaux and La Gavotte. Houses, often villas with land on the hills and the plateau, make up a significant share of the supply and generally trade above the level of apartments, depending on floor area, outdoor space and view. The choice depends above all on budget and on the intended use.
The municipality benefits from its position between Marseille and Aix-en-Provence, two significant employment areas, and from the closeness of the Marignane airport zone and of Plan de Campagne. It offers a setting of hills and more open housing than the neighbouring urban centres, at prices generally below those of Aix. This residential demand, driven by year-round households, supports a steady market throughout the year.
This analysis is published by Immover, an independent observatory founded by Antony Barbier. Data sourced from official sources (DVF, INSEE, Notaries of France).