Côte d’Azur and Provence
Seafront villas, bastides and private mansions: the two tightest territories in the South, where off-market is the norm on fine addresses.
Find your second home without travelling 40 times
A second home plays out on opaque local markets, hundreds of kilometres from your daily life. Home Select hunts these markets, checks every property and only has you visit the essential: three viewings on average, not forty.
- 45 days
- average between the mandate and the accepted offer
- 6%
- average negotiation obtained off the seller price
- 15,000
- professional partners, surfacing properties before they are listed
Why is a second home a different kind of purchase?
An opaque local market, impossible to visit from afar
Every resort, every coastline has its networks, its real prices, its technical traps that no listing mentions. Alone: endless weekend viewings, or worse, buying remotely from photos. The hunt relocates the work: monitoring, shortlisting and viewings are done for you.
Rare properties, often off-market
The fine Bassin villas, village chalets and Breton sea views sell massively without a listing, between families and insiders. Home Select surfaces these properties before publication through its network of 15,000 partners.
Home Select’s method applied to second homes
The framing takes the real usage into account: weekends or long stays, family life, transmission. The brief follows, market by market.
The hunt runs through the local market: the network surfaces properties, every file passes a technical audit (seaside buildings, resort co-ownerships, servitudes) before any viewing.
The negotiation, finally, accounts for seasonality: the best windows are often out of season, when sellers come back to reality.
The markets where Home Select hunts
Alps: Megève, Courchevel, Chamonix
Prestige chalets and apartments in the great Northern resorts, where value plays on precise technical criteria.
Basque Country and Atlantic Coast
Basque villas, the Bassin d’Arcachon, the île de Ré: private-agreement markets where the buying window opens months before summer.
Normandy and Brittany
The Côte Fleurie two hours from Paris, the Morbihan sea views: the two weekend coastlines Parisians know best.
Micro-markets
City by city, what you are really buying
Every market has its rules, its micro-markets and its seasonality. Here, for each city, is the property a second home is looking for. The city page goes further, with its figures from the DVF vintage and its neighbourhoods.
Île-de-France
- Paris The Paris pied-à-terre is a market of its own: a home closed three quarters of the year, reopened for Parisian weeks, or the base of a couple living between two cities.
- Paris 1er This is one of France’s first pied-à-terre addresses: a flat by the Tuileries closes in three minutes and reopens for an opera weekend or a sale by a place Vendôme antique dealer.
- Paris 2e A pied-à-terre in the 2nd is bought for the life of the boulevards and the passages: theatres, wine merchants, glass-roofed galleries, everything within steps.
- Paris 3e The 3rd lends itself to the character pied-à-terre: a top-floor flat or a converted shop near the covered market, reopened for a weekend of galleries and museums.
- Paris 4e An address on the Île Saint-Louis or the place des Vosges is the pied-à-terre you keep for life: a few rooms under the roof, the Seine at the end of the street, an easy lock-up.
- Paris 5e The 5th is less a pied-à-terre arrondissement than an address you keep: many buyers hold on to the flat inherited or bought young, between the Panthéon and the Jardin des Plantes, before handing it down.
- Paris 6e A pied-à-terre in Saint-Germain-des-Prés or by the Luxembourg is a life purchase: literary cafés, the Odéon, galleries, closed for part of the year, reopened for sales and theatres.
- Paris 7e The 7th is a genuine second-residence market: a floor with a view over Les Invalides or the Eiffel Tower, closed part of the year, reopened for Parisian stays.
- Paris 8e The 8th is the kingdom of the discreet pied-à-terre: a flat closed eleven months a year behind a porte cochère, reopened for Parisian weeks and the sales of nearby place Vendôme.
- Paris 9e A pied-à-terre in the 9th is bought for dense cultural life: the Opéra Garnier, the Folies Bergère, theatres and passages a few streets apart.
- Paris 10e The 10th hosts a particular pied-à-terre: the weekday flat of the provincial coming to Paris, between two trains from the Nord and the Est, or the urban base of a dual-career couple.
- Paris 11e The 11th rarely serves as an exception pied-à-terre, but as a flat kept after a move: many hold on to their Oberkampf or Roquette two-bedroom for Parisian weeks, between family lending and regulated letting.
- Paris 12e The 12th hosts practical secondary buying: the reserve flat near the Gare de Lyon, kept for journeys south, or the family pied-à-terre by the bois for cycling weekends.
- Paris 13e The 13th stands apart from prestige second homes, but the flat serves as a first step: the two-bedroom bought to settle in, kept as a Parisian base when the family grows elsewhere.
- Paris 14e The 14th serves as a discreet base: a flat near Denfert-Rochereau, kept for Parisian stays or life changes, the Gare du Nord direct and the airports within reach.
- Paris 15e The 15th hosts functional second buying: the weekly pied-à-terre of the provincial coming to Paris, near Montparnasse and the stations, or the flat kept when the family has grown elsewhere.
- Paris 16e The 16th is a second-residence address for an international or provincial buyer: a large flat near the bois, closed part of the year, reopened for school holidays and Roland-Garros in spring.
- Paris 17e The 17th serves as a second residence for West-end families and for provincials following children schooled in Paris: a three-bedroom near the park, kept between uses.
- Paris 18e Montmartre remains a sought-after pied-à-terre address: a studio or one-bedroom under the roofs, reopened for weekends, the butte as only garden.
- Paris 19e The 19th is no resort market, but the Canal de l’Ourcq and the Buttes-Chaumont attract a first leisure purchase: the weekend flat of Western Parisians, kayak and philharmonic included.
- Paris 20e The 20th serves as a first rung to ownership and a makers’ rear base: the Belleville studio or two-bedroom, kept when life moves on, the Parc de Belleville for the view.
- Montreuil Montreuil is a first-purchase, project-led market: the garden house bought for the family, the loft kept as a Parisian workspace.
- Pantin Pantin serves as a work base and a first purchase: the canal-side studio or two-bedroom, kept for Parisian weeks or lent to student children.
- Le Pré-Saint-Gervais Le Pré serves as springboard and base: the flat bought as a first purchase, kept as a Parisian pied-à-terre when life moves on.
- Les Lilas Les Lilas serve as a first pavilion rung: the garden house bought when intramuros Paris becomes too tight, often kept as an anchor in the Paris region.
- Bagnolet Bagnolet is a first-time-buyer market: the period two-bedroom, bought to settle in, often kept as a Parisian base when the family grows eastwards.
- Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine Saint-Ouen serves as a creative base and a first purchase: the flea-market loft or the new riverside flat, kept for Parisian weeks or bought to settle.
- Saint-Denis Saint-Denis is not a second-home market: the first purchase and space are what play here, ten minutes from Paris on RER D.
- Clichy Clichy serves as a weekday base and a first purchase: the two or three-bedroom near the town hall, kept for working stays or lent to the children.
- Levallois-Perret Levallois serves as a weekday base: the two or three-bedroom kept near métro 3, for a Paris posting lived on weekdays with the Friday return to the provinces.
- Neuilly-sur-Seine Neuilly is a classic second-residence address: the family property kept near the bois and the Jardin d’Acclimatation, reopened for holidays and the great Parisian gatherings.
- Saint-Cloud Saint-Cloud is a green second-residence address: a house or a park-view flat, the Parc de Saint-Cloud as a garden, Paris one bridge away.
- Suresnes Suresnes offers an atypical second home: the hillside house or the Paris-view flat, kept as a base in the Paris region by buyers sometimes working abroad.
- Boulogne-Billancourt Boulogne hosts a prized second residence: the large flat near the Bois de Boulogne, base of Parisian stays for families from abroad, international schools around.
- Issy-les-Moulineaux Issy serves as a modern base: the recent flat with services, close to the television studios and the offices, kept for Parisian working weeks or lent to children on internships.
- Vanves Vanves serves as a first rung to ownership for Parisians of the South: the two-bedroom bought to settle in, kept as a pied-à-terre when life calls elsewhere.
- Malakoff Malakoff is first a first-time-buyer market: the period two-bedroom, bought to settle in, often kept as a Parisian base when the family grows further out.
- Montrouge Montrouge serves as a space reserve for Parisians: the family three-bedroom bought to settle year-round, or kept as a rear base after a move to the regions.
- Charenton-le-Pont Charenton serves as a first rung for families: the three-bedroom bought to settle in, kept as a Parisian base after a move further out.
- Vincennes Vincennes is a solid second-residence address: the family property near the château, kept between stays, or the first purchase of Parisian families coming down from the 12th.
- Saint-Mandé Saint-Mandé serves as a retirement and second-residence address: the flat or house near the bois, kept by buyers leaving Paris without really leaving it.
Provence
- Aix-en-Provence As a second home, Aix sits between two worlds: a characterful flat in the Mazarin quarter, locked up in three minutes and reopened at Easter, or a bastide in the Aix countryside, which needs a gardener, a maintained pool and someone on the ground.
- Marseille A Marseille pied-à-terre is bought for the sea ten minutes away and the airport at thirty.
- Cassis This is the primary vocation of the Cassis market: a house in the village or on the heights, used from April to October.
- La Ciotat Sand beaches in the centre, a characterful old port and the Mugel calanque: La Ciotat offers the Provence coast without the entry ticket of Cassis.
- Avignon A townhouse inside the walls or a house in Villeneuve-lès-Avignon: the papal city is the gateway to the Luberon and the Alpilles, 2 hr 40 from Paris by TGV, which makes a second home genuinely usable at weekends.
- Bandol This is the heart of the Bandol market: a sea-view villa on the south-facing hills, or a flat in the centre within walking distance of the port.
- Sanary-sur-Mer A village house in the old centre, a sea-view flat by the port, or a villa on the heights and at Portissol: Sanary covers all three uses.
- Saint-Cyr-sur-Mer This is the vocation of the market: a villa in the vineyard hills or a house near the Les Lecques seafront, for summer and school holidays.
- Saint-Rémy-de-Provence A second home in Saint-Rémy is easy to live: Avignon and its TGV thirty minutes away make the town workable from Paris for a weekend.
- Gordes Gordes is a second-home address before anything else: the hilltop village is lived in a few weeks a year, and the TGV at Avignon, about 45 minutes away, puts Paris at 2 hrs 40.
- Lourmarin A second home in Lourmarin gets used all year: the Friday market, the village tables, the cherry trees in spring and the harvest in late season.
Côte d’Azur
- Nice A Nice pied-à-terre is chosen on three criteria: the view, the floor and the lift.
- Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat This is almost the sole vocation of the peninsula: a villa with a garden between two bays, for summer and the shoulder seasons.
- Cannes La Croisette and the Banane for the sea-view flat, La Californie and Super Cannes for the villa with garden and pool.
- Antibes Cap d’Antibes for the discreet property under the pines, old Antibes for the town house inside the ramparts, Juan-les-Pins for the lively seafront: three very different uses.
- Saint-Tropez This is the whole market: Les Parcs de Saint-Tropez, the village and La Ponche, the hills of Ramatuelle and Gassin.
- Menton A house in Menton can be used twelve months a year if you wish: winter is its fine season, and the town lives in January.
- Èze A house in Èze is the view for life and the sea without the crowds, ten minutes from Monaco and twenty-five from Nice.
- Mougins Twenty-five minutes from Nice airport and ten from the TGV of Cannes, the family house is easy to reach and simple to run at a distance, especially inside a gated estate.
- Valbonne Fifteen minutes from the beaches of Cannes and twenty-five from Nice airport, Valbonne easily serves as a second home: the village lives all year, the shops open in February, and the neighbouring golf courses fill the weekends.
- Villefranche-sur-Mer A second address in Villefranche is used all year: the station puts Nice ten minutes away, the airport twenty, and the town is lived on foot once the bags are down.
Alps
- Megève This is the whole market: a chalet on Mont d’Arbois or Rochebrune, a flat a step from the village.
- Courchevel Le Jardin Alpin and Les Chenus for the ski-in ski-out chalet, Courchevel Village and Le Praz for character at more measured values.
- Chamonix From Les Praz to Le Lavancher, characterful chalets are rare and hotly contested.
- Val-d’Isère A second home in Val-d’Isère is chosen for its weeks of snow and kept for decades.
- Méribel A second home in Méribel is chosen for its weeks of snow and kept in families for decades.
- La Clusaz A second home in La Clusaz is lived all year round: skiing on the five massifs in winter, walking and cheese in summer.
- Saint-Gervais-les-Bains With its direct TGV at Le Fayet and its tramway, Saint-Gervais is a second home you can live in without a car: you step off the train and you are home.
Rhône-Alpes
- Lyon A Lyon pied-à-terre is bought for the city itself: Ainay, the Presqu’île, the 6th around the Parc de la Tête d’Or.
- Annecy The lake is the market: the eastern shore, from Veyrier to Menthon and Talloires, forms the summit of French lakeside addresses.
- Évian-les-Bains Belle Époque villas, terraced grounds above the lake, flats with a view: Évian is a second-home market more discreet than the Swiss shore, hunted through networks.
- Aix-les-Bains The direct TGV and the lake at the door make Aix-les-Bains an easy second home: you arrive from Paris in about three hours and the car can stay in the garage.
- Divonne-les-Bains A second home in Divonne is used all year: Geneva airport, twenty-five minutes away, brings Paris and the world back within hours, and the spa, the golf and the races give a calendar even in winter.
- Chambéry About three hours from Paris by direct TGV, Chambéry is a credible second-home base: the town for the week, the valleys for the weekend.
Basque Country
- Biarritz A neo-Basque villa, an Art Deco flat, an ocean view: Biarritz sells light first, and walking distance to the beach.
- Saint-Jean-de-Luz A shipowner’s house in the historic centre, a villa at Sainte-Barbe facing the ocean, a surf address at Acotz: three uses, three markets.
- Anglet A house under the pines in Chiberta or a sea-view apartment towards the Chambre d’Amour: Anglet is the second-home address of the Basque conurbation, ten minutes from the airport and three and a half hours from Paris.
- Bayonne A small house in old Bayonne is the simplest second address of the Basque country: direct TGV from Paris, shops on foot, and the ocean a quarter of an hour away for weekends.
- Guéthary It is the primary use of this market: a house for the Basque summer, surfing at Parlementia, the coastal paths, Biarritz airport twenty minutes away.
- Hossegor It is the prime use of the village: a house under the pines, the wave by bike, the marine lake for the children, the Seignosse golf and the port of Capbreton around.
Atlantic Coast
- Bordeaux A flat in the Triangle d’Or or a merchant’s house in Les Chartrons: Bordeaux is an urban second home, two hours from Paris.
- Arcachon This is the vocation of the market: a villa in the Ville d’Hiver, a flat on the bay front, a house at Le Moulleau or Le Pyla.
- Cap Ferret This is the entire market: a villa under the pines at the point, an oyster farmer’s house at Le Canon or L’Herbe, an ocean address at Le Truc Vert.
- La Rochelle A shipowner’s house inside the walls, a house in La Genette, a flat facing the old port: La Rochelle offers character without isolation, with the Île de Ré twenty minutes away.
- Île de Ré This is the essence of the market: a village house in Saint-Martin, Ars, La Flotte or Les Portes, each with its own codes and its own lanes.
- La Baule A house in La Baule is lived from March to November thanks to the TGV: Paris is three hours away, weekends come together without planning.
- Royan A house in Royan is lived from March to November: La Rochelle is an hour and a quarter away, Bordeaux two hours, and the train serves Paris with a connection.
Occitanie
- Montpellier A townhouse in the Écusson or a flat in Les Arceaux, with the sea a quarter of an hour away: Montpellier lends itself to the urban second home, very different from the coastal one.
- Toulouse Toulouse is a main-residence market more than a second-home one, but the townhouse in Les Carmes or the fine floor overlooking the Garonne do find buyers who come for a few weeks a year.
- Collioure This is the vocation of the market: a fisherman’s house in Le Mouré or Le Faubourg, for summer and the shoulder seasons.
- Nîmes For a second home, Nîmes plays the town: arena, market, Jardins de la Fontaine, and the Pont du Gard twenty-five minutes away for weekends.
- Uzès For a second home, Uzès offers the stone town in its most complete version: Saturday market, arcades, tables, and the countryside of the Uzège at the door.
- Sète For a second home, Sète plays the port town rather than the resort: corniche beaches, summer jousts, Thau oysters all year, and a direct TGV to Paris.
- Albi A house in Albi can be used in every season: summer takes the Tarn and the banks, winter gives the town back to its residents, and culture does the rest, museum and cathedral on foot.
Normandy
- Deauville This is the primary vocation of the market: a villa in the golden triangle, a flat facing the sea, a house in Trouville.
- Honfleur A characterful house near the Vieux-Bassin, an address on the Côte de Grâce or a flat in the upper town: Honfleur is lived in weekends all year, two hours from Paris.
- Cabourg A villa in Cabourg is used from February to November: weekends, the May bank holidays, the long summer.
- Étretat It is the near-universal use of this market: a house for weekends and holidays, two and a half hours from Paris via Bréauté station.
Brittany
- Vannes The gulf is the market: Arradon, Baden, the Île-aux-Moines, the Rhuys peninsula.
- Saint-Malo An apartment behind the ramparts, an upper floor on the Sillon with an unbroken view, or a house with a garden in Paramé: Saint-Malo is lived in at weekends all year, two and a quarter hours from Paris by direct train.
- Dinard This is the resort’s natural use, and that of most of its buyers: a Belle Époque villa at the Moulinet or in La Malouine, a sea-view apartment near the Écluse, a more sheltered house at the Prieuré.
- Cancale A house in Cancale is used in every season: weekends at La Houle, summers in the bay, the oyster stalls of autumn.
- Carnac A house in Carnac is lived in from Easter to All Saints, and often beyond: late season is its finest reward.
- Perros-Guirec A house in Perros is lived in from Easter to All Saints, and Lannion airfield, with its daily flights to Paris, makes weekends easy all year.
Fees
Two offers, paid on success
- 2.5% of the net purchase price
- Exclusive offer The full service, at every budget. Minimum €10,000 incl. VAT.
- 1.5% of the net purchase price
- Confidential offer The same service, dedicated to off-market properties. Reserved for projects of €2m and above.
Home Select is paid 100% on success: nothing is due until you have bought.
Frequently asked questions
What Home Select is asked first
Does Home Select hunt second homes beyond its listed cities?
Yes: each area covered by Home Select has its page, and any other city is handled tailor-made with the same method and network. Île-de-France is served by Home Select’s dedicated website, homeselect.paris.
Do I have to travel for the viewings?
No: most of Home Select’s second-home clients live in Paris or abroad. Home Select shortlists, arranges video pre-viewings and documents; you only travel for the properties retained, three on average.
What are your fees?
Home Select, a property finder, charges 2.5% of the net purchase price (minimum €10,000 incl. VAT) on the Exclusive offer, or 1.5% on the Confidential offer for projects of €2m and above. Home Select is paid on success only: nothing is due until you have bought.
What happens next
- A property finder reads your request and answers within one working day.
- A first confidential conversation: how you will use the property, the real budget, the non-negotiable criteria, the timing.
- A written brief, and a search started within the week. Nothing is due until you have bought.
Your second-home project
A first confidential conversation, with no commitment. A property finder answers within one working day.
- 4.8/5
- On Google (130+ reviews)
- 1,200+
- Buyers guided
- 100%
- On success, nothing upfront
It takes 1 minute.
Or call Home Select directly on 01 78 76 78 10
