The average price per m² in Villars is 1 295 €/m² for an apartment, based on actual notarised (DVF) sales. For a house or villa, it is 2 507 €/m². About 63 transactions are recorded each year.
Atmospheric illustration of Villars, a former mining town in the northern suburbs of Saint-Étienne, in the Loire department.
The average price of an apartment in Villars stands at 1 295 €/m², based on DVF data, the French notarised sales database, one of the most affordable levels in the northern suburbs of Saint-Étienne. Houses sell at a clearly higher level, around 2 507 €/m². A former mining town that is part of Saint-Étienne Métropole, the metropolitan authority, Villars has inherited a housing stock shaped by its industrial past, with miners' terraced houses and old buildings alongside more recent housing estates on the higher ground. This marked gap between apartments and houses reflects demand focused mainly on detached houses with gardens, while the apartment market remains very affordable. Location, the condition of the property, outdoor space and the extent of the works required make values vary widely from one area to another.
House : 2 507 €/m²
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 Villars market remains driven by a working-class and affordable profile, with a steady flow of sales recorded each year in DVF data. The municipality benefits from its position as a close suburb of Saint-Étienne and from prices among the lowest in the conurbation, which sustains demand from first-time buyers and investors. The apartment market, fed by an older housing stock, stands clearly apart from that of detached houses, which are more sought after.
Several factors cap the price level. The Saint-Étienne area has some of the lowest values among France's major conurbations, and Villars is no exception, marked by a mining heritage and often old buildings. Conversely, the immediate closeness of Saint-Étienne, membership of the metropolitan authority and the presence of residential estates support demand and keep the market active, especially in the house segment.
Villars shows a price level close to that of Saint-Étienne, the main city it borders, and slightly below it. The municipality remains more affordable than Saint-Chamond, in the Gier valley, but slightly above Firminy, another municipality in the west of the Saint-Étienne area, in a region where prices are among the lowest of France's major conurbations.
Villars is a former mining town of the Saint-Étienne coalfield. Coal mining long set the pace of life in the municipality: the Compagnie des mines de Villars settled there in 1880 and set up its offices before housing its director and then its managers there. The pits and the miners' terraces shaped the landscape and population of the municipality, like the coal miners who filled the working-class neighbourhoods, in continuity with the Saint-Étienne coal basin.
The industrial history of Villars crosses that of the early railways. On its territory, at Bois Monzil, stands the oldest railway bridge in continental Europe, built in 1827 and listed in the inventory of historic monuments. It recalls the pioneering role of the Saint-Étienne area in carrying coal by rail, as one of the first lines in France linked Saint-Étienne to the Loire to transport the coal.
The Villars mines closed in 1958, marking the end of the coal industry that had sustained the municipality. Villars then turned to a residential profile, with the construction of housing estates and the arrival of a working population employed in Saint-Étienne and its conurbation. As part of Saint-Étienne Métropole, the municipality keeps the traces of its mining heritage while establishing itself as a residential suburb north of the city.
Villars has 7 664 inhabitants. A former mining town turned residential suburb north of Saint-Étienne, it offers one of the most affordable markets in the Saint-Étienne conurbation. The municipality mainly attracts modest-income households and first-time buyers for whom home ownership remains possible at contained prices, as well as families looking for a detached house with a garden on the higher ground. The housing stock mixes older homes inherited from the mining period and more recent housing estates. Buyers are mostly people working in Saint-Étienne and its conurbation, attentive to the closeness of the main city and to a purchase budget more affordable than in the more sought-after municipalities west of Lyon.
The average price of apartments in Villars is 1 295 €/m², based on DVF transactions completed before notaries, one of the lowest levels in the northern suburbs of Saint-Étienne. Houses sit higher, around 2 507 €/m². These averages cover differences linked to location, the condition of the property and the works required.
Villars has inherited a housing stock shaped by its past as a mining town, with old buildings that often need renovation. The Saint-Étienne area also has some of the lowest prices among France's major conurbations. These two factors explain why apartments remain very affordable there, at 1 295 €/m² on average, with wide variations depending on the condition of the property.
Demand in Villars focuses mainly on detached houses with gardens in the recent housing estates, which supports house prices, around 2 507 €/m². The apartment market, fed by older buildings from the mining period, remains much lower, at 1 295 €/m². This gap reflects very different market segments within the same municipality.
Villars borders Saint-Étienne to the north and is part of Saint-Étienne Métropole. The municipality is only a few kilometres from central Saint-Étienne, which makes it a close suburb with good links to the city. This position allows residents to work in Saint-Étienne while buying a home at more moderate prices than in the main city.
Yes, it is one of the municipality's strengths. The level of apartment prices, among the lowest in the conurbation, puts home ownership within reach of modest budgets. Families can also look for a detached house with a garden on the higher ground. The cost of works should nonetheless be factored in, as it is common in the older buildings inherited from the mining past.
This analysis is published by Immover, an independent observatory founded by Antony Barbier. Data sourced from official sources (DVF, INSEE, Notaries of France).