The average price per m² in Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume is 3 118 €/m² for an apartment, based on actual notarised (DVF) sales. About 39 transactions are recorded each year.
Atmospheric illustration of Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume, the central town of the Provence verte, in the Var, between Aix-en-Provence and Toulon.
The average apartment price in Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume stands at 3 118 €/m², based on DVF transactions actually registered with notaries (DVF is the French record of notarised property sales). That is an intermediate level for the Var, more measured than on the coast but supported by the position between Aix-en-Provence and Toulon. This average covers a varied stock: dwellings in the compact old centre around the basilica, more recent developments in the residential extensions and houses on the outskirts. Houses, numerous in the municipality, trade on average at around 3 712 €/m². The aspect, the view over the Sainte-Baume massif, the floor level, the presence of outdoor space and the distance to the historic centre make the value of a property vary. The market is carried by a town that is expanding, as working households from the two neighbouring metropolitan areas settle there.
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 Saint-Maximin market is active for a central town of the Var hinterland, carried by the municipality's population growth and by its role as the hub of the Provence verte. Demand comes from the position between Aix-en-Provence and Toulon, from a budget more affordable than on the coast and from the steady building of new districts. Transactions are split between resales from the existing stock and more recent dwellings in the extensions.
Several factors support this price level. The closeness of the employment areas of Aix and Toulon, the A8 motorway corridor, the setting of the Sainte-Baume massif and the heritage appeal of the basilica sustain residential demand that reaches beyond the old centre alone. Conversely, the absence of a passenger railway station, dependence on the car and the distance from the sea bound the rise in prices and keep levels below those of the coastal municipalities of the Var.
Saint-Maximin sits at a level close to Cuers, above Aubagne to the west and below Gardanne, nearer Aix-en-Provence. The municipality remains a more measured choice than the neighbouring Var coast.
The history of the town is tied to the tradition of Mary Magdalene, whose relics are said to have been discovered on the site around 1295. At the request of Charles II of Anjou, count of Provence, work on a basilica to house them began the same year and continued for nearly two centuries, until around 1532. With a nave seventy-two metres long and twenty-nine metres high, the building is the largest gothic church in Provence.
Charles II of Anjou entrusted the sanctuary to the Dominican order, charged with watching over the relics and running the pilgrimage. The royal convent adjoining the basilica was administered by the Dominicans until 1959, apart from the revolutionary period, when the building served as a prison. That ensemble, basilica and convent, remains the town's major landmark.
Saint-Maximin is the central town of the Provence verte, a hinterland at the foot of the Sainte-Baume massif, away from the coast. Long a farming town and a stop on the road between Aix and Nice, the municipality has for some decades seen growth tied to its position between the Aix-en-Provence and Toulon areas, which feeds the development of new districts around the old centre.
Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume has 17 896 inhabitants and acts as the central town of the Provence verte. The stock mixes dwellings in the old centre, recent developments from the successive extensions and houses on the outskirts, in a municipality that is expanding. Buyers are mainly working households settled year-round, families and first-time buyers who work in the Aix-en-Provence and Toulon areas and are looking for a more affordable budget than on the Var coast. Main-residence demand dominates.
The average apartment price in Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume is 3 118 €/m², based on DVF transactions actually completed before notaries. Houses, which are numerous, trade on average at around 3 712 €/m². These averages vary with the aspect, the view over the Sainte-Baume massif, the floor level, outdoor space and the distance to the old centre. The level stays more measured than on the Var coast.
Saint-Maximin lies in the hinterland, at the foot of the Sainte-Baume massif, away from the sea. The coastal municipalities of the Var, carried by second homes and tourist demand, show much higher levels. Here the market is first of all residential, turned towards households who live and work in the Provence verte and the neighbouring metropolitan areas, which keeps prices contained.
The town is crossed by the A8 motorway, which links it to Aix-en-Provence to the west and to Nice to the east, and by the roads towards Toulon to the south. It has no passenger railway station: the nearest are at Aix-en-Provence and Brignoles, and daily travel is mainly by car. That interchange position between two metropolitan areas is a driver of the local market.
Barely. Unlike the coastal municipalities of the department, Saint-Maximin is first of all lived in year-round. Demand comes from households settling for the long term, more than from second-home buyers. That structure supports a steady market, carried by the growth of the town and by the closeness of the employment areas of Aix-en-Provence and Toulon.
The choice depends on use and budget. The reference price of 3 118 €/m² relates to apartments, found in the old centre and in the recent developments. Houses, numerous in this expanding municipality, trade on average at around 3 712 €/m², because of their size and their outdoor space. Families often turn to houses, while apartments remain the most affordable entry point.
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Value my propertyThis analysis is published by Immover, an independent observatory founded by Antony Barbier. Data sourced from official sources (DVF, INSEE, Notaries of France).