RETURN OF THE PIED-À-TERRE

RETURN OF THE

The enduring appeal of city life is reflected in the global trend for small but perfectly formed urban boltholes

Words by Lucy Alexander

Above: a chic apartment in Invalides, in Paris’ exclusive 7th arrondissement; €3.75m, Alice Storrie, astorrie@savills.com. Above right: spectacular views from New York’s Central Park Tower; from $6.5m, Rory McMullen, rmcmullen@savills.com

PIED-À-TERRE

ONCE UPON A PRE-PANDEMIC TIME, a second home was a country cottage – a symbol of escape, a respite from urban chaos. Fast forward to today and the new second home is just as likely to be in central Manhattan, London or Paris – still an escape, but from bucolic isolation to the perennial appeal of life as lived in the world’s great cities. Our concept of home has shifted lately. So do we now continue along the road many of us have travelled these past two years, away from urban life, or make a U-turn back to the city? Those with means can have it both ways and maintain a primary residence in the country alongside a chic pied-à-terre, the year’s hottest trend.

High demand is anticipated for city-centre property worldwide in 2022, with Savills Prime Index: World Cities report forecasting average price growth of 4.3 per cent across 30 international cities. Prices in New York are predicted to rise by 4-6 per cent and those in London by 6-8 per cent, while rents are expected to follow the same trajectory. So, what constitutes the perfect pied-à-terre?

Let’s start in Paris, where the legend began. Hugues de La Morandière, director of Varenne, Savills associate in Paris, says a pied-à-terre must meet two criteria: it is never the owner’s primary home; and it must be very central. “A pied-à-terre is like a hotel,” he says. “A place for two to three days a week – for meetings, culture and friends.” For French buyers and renters, who focus on the first eight arrondissements, “having a pied-à-terre means not using a car. You must be in the centre for restaurants and cultural life.” It is, as the name suggests, a small foothold, about 50-100 square metres, costing about €15,000 to €20,000 per square metre.

The requirements of international clients seeking a Parisian pied-àterre are different, with buyers looking for 100- to 300-square-metre apartments in the most exclusive arrondissements, such as the 7th and 16th, that have been renovated by interior decorators, have air conditioning and, ideally, offer a view of the Eiffel Tower. For this more substantial foothold, they will pay €2m to €6m.

Americans and Brits make up the next tranche, opting for “outstanding views of the Seine or major monuments” for €20,000

to €30,000 per square metre. And then there are a limited number of small private mansions – rare trophy assets that start at €25m for 1,000 square metres. These last two sectors have recently been “very, very dynamic”, according to de La Morandière.

As for domestic buyers, there has been a “radical movement towards the provinces”. Before 2020 “it was not common to work remotely”, says de La Morandière, “but the pandemic has ended the weekend concept, so it’s now easier to get in and out without traffic jams”. He sees demand from young retirees and entrepreneurs in their thirties, “who moved to Biarritz or Provence and want to come back and forth”. He is confident that “Paris will stay very attractive, but for people who live in the provinces, their dream is no longer about moving to Paris, but to have a pied-à-terre for visits”.

The picture in New York, meanwhile, is dramatic. Property prices plummeted in the first two months of the pandemic, as about 420,000 people left the city. Yet the rebound has been equally frenzied, with 11.5 per cent rental value growth in the last six months of 2021; in the sales market, prices have already reached December 2018 levels. Rory McMullen, head of the North America desk at Savills Private Office, says “pied-à-terre buyers are a major component” of that recovery.

These buyers typically decamped to Florida or the Hamptons in 2020, he explains, and are now tempted back by the city’s reopening. Interest is focused on developments such as 15 Central Park West and 220 Central Park South, and new buildings overlooking the Hudson, such as 70 Vestry and 443 Greenwich in Tribeca, and Lantern House in Chelsea. Many pied-à-terre buyers are empty nesters “splitting their time between various homes”, says McMullen. Those from further afield include “celebrities, tech millionaires and entrepreneurs”, of whom about two-thirds are American and one-third international. Most have a budget of $2m-$5m, and are finding prices are now 50 per cent higher than they were in 2019.

Across the pond, many Brits who fled to the country are also fuelled not quite by buyer’s remorse, but by a feeling that a new balance between town and country life has to be struck. The view in 2020 was that “people didn’t need to get into town, and jobs were flexible, so transport was not a priority”, says Liza-Jane Kelly, Savills director of London residential. “Now there’s a bit of tension with that decision.”

At the top end of the market are pied-à-terre seekers in prime central London, who typically sold a townhouse in Belgravia, Mayfair, Marylebone or Knightsbridge, moved to the country and now need a part-time city base, for which they will pay £5m-£10m. They’re in their late twenties to early forties, mostly working in hedge funds, private equity and tech. They want to live near their former homes, says Kelly, or in The Whiteley and Park Modern developments in newly desirable Bayswater, and prioritise “security, a concierge service, good public transport, access to airports, theatres and the motorway”.

Demand is hot in the rental market, according to Amelia Greene, director of residential lettings at Savills: “We have a serious lack of stock because the sales market has been so strong.” That shortage plus the increase in demand “have meant price rises in most parts of London this year”. Now, most offers on rentals “are going to best and final bids”. The motivations for those seeking prime rentals, defined as £2,000 to £5,000 a week, are the same as in the sales market. As charming as a rural lifestyle is, “If you’ve been in London, that’s one hell of a lifestyle change. This is totally driving the pied-à-terre trend.” Many of these clients are choosing to rent because they want to “try before they buy”, says Greene.

She expects prices to level out, however. “The heat will come out of the sales market, more stock will come to lettings, the backlog of applicants who held off over lockdowns will find somewhere and it will settle down,” Greene predicts. But, as in Paris and New York, she believes the fundamental attraction of a city bolthole will not diminish: “It’s eternal.”

ALBION GATE This newly renovated two-bedroom apartment is in a portered building opposite Hyde Park; £2.2m, Claire Reynolds, claire.reynolds@savills.com

PARIS

LUXEMBOURG A second-floor apartment in the 6th arrondissement, with views of the Jardin du Luxembourg; €3.622m, Alice Storrie, astorrie@savills.com

NEW YORK

WILLIAM MEWS Moments from Hyde Park, this five-bedroom house is in a gated mews in Knightsbridge; £6.5m, Mark Redfern, mark.redfern@savills.com

OPÉRA In the 2nd arrondissement, near Place Vendôme, this peaceful 6th-floor apartment has an Eiffel Tower view; €1.333m, Alice Storrie, astorrie@savills.com EMPERORS GATE A three-bedroom lateral apartment on Gloucester Road, Kensington; £1,800 per week, Alex Melton, alex.melton@savills.com

PALAIS ROYAL This four-bedroom apartment is in a 19th-century building in the 1st arrondissement; €2.965m, Alice Storrie, astorrie@savills.com

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