The average price per m² in Saint-Renan is 2 636 €/m² for an apartment, based on actual notarised (DVF) sales. About 28 transactions are recorded each year.
Atmospheric illustration of Saint-Renan, in the Iroise country, in Finistère.
The average price of apartments in Saint-Renan stands at 2 636 €/m², based on DVF transactions actually registered with notaries. This average covers a stock dominated by the detached house: half-timbered houses and older buildings around the Place du Vieux-Marché, estate homes from the developments that accompanied the growth of the municipality, and a few more recent schemes. Location relative to the centre, the condition of a property, the presence of a garden and energy performance make values vary sharply. Its position some ten kilometres from Brest supports demand from working households employed in the metropolitan area.
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-Renan market is driven above all by its role as a residential centre west of Brest. The population has more than tripled since the 1950s and continues to grow, supported by the building of estates and the arrival of working households employed in the metropolitan area. Transactions nonetheless remain moderate in volume for apartments, in the order of a few dozen sales a year in the DVF data, most of the market involving the detached house. Supply consists mainly of resales in the estate fabric and the old centre.
Several factors support prices. The immediate closeness of Brest, its university and its employment area sustains steady demand for main residences, while the setting of the Iroise country, the heritage of the old centre and the stretches of water inherited from the former tin mines add to the appeal of the municipality. Conversely, the distance from the tourist coast, a market geared to the main residence rather than to the second home, and prices below those of the seaside municipalities of southern Finistère cap the rise in values and place Saint-Renan in the middle range of the towns of the Brest conurbation.
Saint-Renan sits above Brest, its large neighbour some ten kilometres away, and above Landerneau, the central town of the Elorn valley, but below Guipavas, a municipality in the eastern suburbs of the Brest metropolitan area.
Saint-Renan owes its name to Saint Ronan, a hermit from Ireland who, according to tradition, evangelised the region before moving on to Locronan. The town rose in the Middle Ages around its markets, established by the lords of Léon. In 1276, Viscount Hervé IV of Léon sold the town to Duke Jean le Roux, who set up a court of justice there joined to that of Brest. That judicial status fixed very early the administrative role of Saint-Renan over north-western Finistère, away from the coast but at the crossroads of the Iroise country.
After Brittany was attached to France, Saint-Renan became the seat of a sénéchaussée, first ducal then royal, whose jurisdiction covered thirty-seven parishes. This role as a town of justice and market brought it a period of prosperity, attested by the half-timbered houses of the 15th and 16th centuries preserved around the Place du Vieux-Marché. The Maison Cardinal, with its corbelled gable and carved faces, is the best-known piece. In 1681, Louis XIV moved the royal seat to Brest, which stripped the town of its judicial role and began a long decline.
In the 20th century, Saint-Renan went through an unusual industrial episode: from 1960 to 1975, the Comiren company worked the alluvial cassiterite deposits nearby, making the municipality one of the main tin extraction sites in Europe. The end of the operation left behind several stretches of water, including the Ty-Colo lake, which became places to walk. The closeness of Brest then turned the municipality into a residential centre: the population rose from 2 682 inhabitants in 1954 to 8 577 today, driven by the housing estates. A weekly Saturday market and medieval festivals keep the memory of the old town alive.
Saint-Renan has 8 577 inhabitants according to INSEE, the French national statistics institute. Its property market is almost entirely geared to the main residence: according to INSEE, main residences account for around 94 % of the homes, second homes remaining marginal, the sign of a municipality lived in all year round rather than a holiday coastline. The stock is largely dominated by the detached house, which accounts for more than three quarters of the homes, against less than a quarter of apartments. Owner-occupiers make up the majority of households, around seven in ten according to INSEE. There are mainly families and working households employed in Brest, along with first-time buyers drawn by prices more moderate than in the metropolitan area.
The average price of apartments in Saint-Renan is 2 636 €/m², based on DVF transactions actually completed before notaries. This average covers differences by area, by the age of the building, by the condition of the home, by the presence of a garden and by energy performance. A renovated apartment close to the centre and the Place du Vieux-Marché and an older home in need of refreshing do not trade at the same level.
Location remains the first factor. Older houses and homes close to the historic centre, around the Place du Vieux-Marché and the shops, sit at the top of the range. Estate homes further out and properties in need of renovation remain more affordable. General condition, the presence of outdoor space, parking and the energy performance assessment also weigh clearly on the final sale price.
Saint-Renan lies some ten kilometres north-west of Brest, to which it is linked by the departmental road. The municipality is served by coach lines towards Brest and its conurbation, which concentrates the jobs, the university and the major facilities of the area. This closeness to the metropolitan area, without the prices of central Brest, explains a large part of the residential appeal of Saint-Renan for working households.
The market gives a very large place to the detached house, which accounts for more than three quarters of the homes according to INSEE, in the old centre as in the estates on the outskirts. Apartments, to which the reference price of 2 636 €/m² relates, are rarer and are concentrated mainly near the centre. The choice depends on budget, on the need for a garden and on the intended use, most often a main residence.
Largely. The municipality works as a residential centre west of Brest: a large share of buyers work in the metropolitan area and look in Saint-Renan for a house with a garden at a price more moderate than in Brest. The town nonetheless keeps its own shops, its Saturday market and its amenities, which saves it from working as a mere commuter town and sustains steady local demand.
This analysis is published by Immover, an independent observatory founded by Antony Barbier. Data sourced from official sources (DVF, INSEE, Notaries of France).