The average price per m² in Saint-Gilles is 3 199 €/m² for an apartment, based on actual notarised (DVF) sales. About 15 transactions are recorded each year.
Atmospheric illustration of Saint-Gilles, in the outer suburbs west of Rennes.
Saint-Gilles has a benchmark price of 3 199 €/m² for an apartment, a level that reflects a tight market in the west of the Rennes area, where buyers outnumber the properties available. The municipality is growing fast: its housing estates and new-build developments are broadening a supply still dominated by houses. This figure is based on DVF data, the French notarised sales database, meaning sales actually signed before a notary, not asking prices. It gives the measure of the market; condition, address and proximity to the N12 access points towards Rennes then adjust each value.
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.
In Saint-Gilles, demographic vitality drives the market: the municipality has gained inhabitants at a sustained pace, and this influx keeps strong pressure on family houses with land. Quality properties sell quickly, often faster than the usual decision time, while older homes needing renovation find buyers on the back of the same demand. The limited number of annual sales makes each transaction responsive to the specific assets of the home, its condition, its location and its access to the N12, more than to any overall movement.
In the long term, the price trajectory plays out on two fronts. Residential demand from the Rennes basin and land that is becoming scarce on a territory still partly agricultural push values up durably. At the same time, energy performance separates properties: well-insulated homes hold their price, while energy-inefficient properties fall behind. The economic and demographic dynamism of Rennes remains the underlying driver of demand on the western fringe of the metropolitan area.
Saint-Gilles sits in the middle range of its area: its prices remain below those of Rennes, while being comparable to those of neighbouring municipalities such as Mordelles and Le Rheu.
Saint-Gilles extends about fifteen kilometres west of Rennes, over a hedged farmland territory crossed by the N12 route towards Brest. The small town developed in the Middle Ages around a priory attached to the abbey of Saint-Melaine in Rennes, which long shaped local religious and agricultural life. From this past, the municipality has kept a church and a listed churchyard cross, witnesses to the long history of settlement.
The history of Saint-Gilles is first that of a rural small town. Crop farming and livestock dominated its economy for centuries, in a landscape of hedgerows and cultivated land typical of the Rennes basin. The war memorial, adorned with a sculpture of a farmer made by Emmanuel Guérin in 1921, recalls this agricultural identity before the proximity of Rennes transformed the municipality.
Saint-Gilles joined the urban district of the Rennes conurbation as early as 1970, which later became Rennes Métropole, the metropolitan authority. Located on the western edge of the metropolitan territory and served by two access points to the N12, the municipality has since experienced rapid residential growth, with a population increase of nearly 12 % between 2017 and 2023. Today it offers the shops, schools and facilities of a dynamic small town, a short distance from Rennes.
According to INSEE, the French statistics institute, Saint-Gilles has around 5 576 inhabitants, a total rising quickly as a result of growth in the Rennes area. Young families make up the bulk of buyers: working people employed in the metropolitan area who come looking for a detached house and space a few minutes from Rennes. The stock, overwhelmingly made up of houses with land, steers demand towards main residences rather than buy-to-let investment. As a member of Rennes Métropole with direct links to the N12, the municipality attracts a steady flow of would-be buyers, which explains the tight market in the west of the conurbation.
The benchmark price in Saint-Gilles stands at 3 199 €/m² for an apartment, an average drawn from DVF sales signed before notaries rather than from listings. Taken as such, it varies according to floor area, condition and location: a recent house with land costs more, an older home needing renovation appreciably less.
The town centre gathers shops, schools and part of the older buildings, appreciated for everyday convenience. All around, housing estates and new-build developments line up houses with gardens that families snap up. Properties close to services and to the N12 access points towards Rennes remain at the top of buyers' searches.
Saint-Gilles lies about fifteen kilometres west of Rennes, with two direct access points to the N12. This fast road link to the metropolitan area and its employment area attracts working people who have jobs in Rennes without giving up a more rural setting.
In Saint-Gilles, the market is first and foremost a market for houses. Apartment buildings are gaining ground with the town centre and recent developments, but remain a minority. For a buyer, the house with land is the standard product, suited to family life; an apartment is useful for a first purchase or a limited budget, without changing the fact that most sales concern detached houses.
Part of the territory remains agricultural hedged farmland, which limits building rights and concentrates development in the areas designated by the municipality. Rapid growth may also tighten the market for the most sought-after properties. Before going ahead, it is best to consult the PLU, the local urban development plan, at the town hall to check what a plot allows.
This analysis is published by Immover, an independent observatory founded by Antony Barbier. Data sourced from official sources (DVF, INSEE, Notaries of France).