Meeting with : Xavier Fellous, Director of the new Consultants Immobilier agency in the heart of Saint-Germain-des-Prés.

An expert with over 20 years of experience in real estate value, he reveals to us the high-end appeal of the Paris 6th district.

The opening of a new agency is always an event! To be discovered at 33 rue Jacob in the 6th arrondissement, a district of Paris that you know well?
I know the 6th arrondissement very well and deeply love this neighborhood. It’s a pleasure to talk about it! The Consultants agency features a beautiful stone facade that receives many compliments. Located at the corner of Rue Saint Benoît, Rue Jacob is undoubtedly one of the most emblematic streets in the Saint-Germain district. Busy and ideal for experiencing a real lifestyle amidst heritage, culture, nature, craftsmanship, it is close to iconic places and high-fashion boutiques such as Café de Flore or Louis Vuitton…

You are an expert in real estate value, what is your background?

As someone passionate about history, I am proud to have started in real estate at Largier, the first real estate agency in Paris, founded in 1859. Having sold the first plots of land and private mansions in the Plaine Monceau to embassies, the agency, located in the 8th arrondissement, was named the Agency of the Embassies. A historical anecdote, Edmond LARGIER (1873-1953) revolutionized real estate advertising by publishing the first illustrated journal of ads decorated with drawings of buildings and hotels. Quite visionary! In short, I learned the best practices of the profession, formalism, confidentiality, and customer service in this venerable house.

Why did you join the Consultants Immobilier Group?

After a 12-year expatriation in the United States, I worked in real estate as a negotiator and agency manager in various groups in the west of Paris. Until setting up independently in the 6th, specializing in the sale of properties in this district adjoining the 7th where we have an agency on Rue Saint Dominique. I am also an expert in real estate evaluation, a member of the Chamber of Real Estate Experts of France, specializing in high-end residential properties. I have made many sales, both on the Right Bank and the Left Bank, and joining Consultants Immobilier was an obvious choice!

For what reasons?

Its network of agencies in the west of Paris and its specialization in high-end properties suit me. The attractiveness, dynamism, spirit, and professional atmosphere within the Group reflect qualities in line with my own values. Seeing that most of the negotiators have been there for many years, some for 20 years, demonstrates the human qualities of the leaders. My meetings with Roger Abecassis and Patrick Goldberg, the co-founders of Consultants Immobilier, confirmed my desire to belong. And the eagerness to develop my skills and put my experience at the service of the Group. This is what I have been doing with enthusiasm since the recent opening of the Consultants agency in this chic district of the 6th arrondissement.

Without too much difficulty?… “The Saint-Germain area is one of the most sought-after and expensive micro-districts in the 6^th,” you say.

It costs around 17,000€/m2 to acquire a property there, indeed. It’s worth noting that in the 6th, the average exceeds 15,000€/m2, ranging from 14,000€/m2 (near Boulevard du Montparnasse/Duroc/Vavin) to the streets close to Odéon which have a much higher price per m2 like Rue de Tournon, Férou, Garancière, and the most expensive of all: Rue Guynemer alongside the Jardin du Luxembourg, Rue Furstenberg, and Palatine, as well as Place Saint-Sulpice where prices can exceed 30,000 €/m2 for certain addresses.

Large spaces, luxurious apartments, small atypical rooms… What form do the properties take?

It’s quite varied throughout the district. In Saint-Germain, the beautiful Parisian stones come in the form of both small rare properties, nestled in very old buildings, and larger ones with family homes located on the boulevards and in certain streets around Odéon, Rennes, Vavin, and the La Monnaie area. The old apartments we present cater to all desires.
For families, the 6th’s attraction is the highly reputed schools: private high schools like Stanislas, Saint-Sulpice, Saint-Nicolas or Notre-Dame-De-Sion; kindergarten schools Saint-Benoît (in the street of the agency), Saint-André-des-Arts, Littré… Higher education institutes such as the École des Beaux-Arts, the École Nationale Supérieure des Mines, Université Paris-Descartes, and the iconic Sciences Po Paris.

Advantages, qualities, the 6th, a cult district?

I often say that it’s the best district in the world! Nobody ever disputes this point with me. This district is a global capital. Historic, literary, cultural, philosophical. And even if bookstores are giving way to high-fashion stores, the artistic world continues to rub shoulders with politicians, creators, painters, designers. Foreigners love wandering through the art galleries in the picturesque small streets before settling down on the terraces of cafes that gather a beautiful cosmopolitan crowd in all seasons.

BHL and Arielle Dombasle, Deneuve, Lindon, Kiberlain, André Dussollier, Alain Souchon, Charlotte Gainsbourg, the writer Douglas Kennedy are among the star residents… Do they add value?

Certainly, they contribute to the myth. From Joséphine Baker to Matisse, Picasso, Giacometti, Boris Vian, Albert Camus… From the literary cafes frequented by Diderot, Voltaire, Verlaine, or Rousseau to the personalities who continue to live in this district today, this fame continues to impact a consistency in real estate prices. Which keeps on rising!

Because it’s also a secure district where one never gets bored, do you confirm?

Yes, there is interest everywhere. Cultural, fashion, gastronomic, festive. The world of nightlife had its heyday with Régine who sanctified the place by opening her first nightclub on Rue du Four; Castel, Rue Princesse. The numerous restaurants offer a plethora of addresses for all tastes and budgets. Brasseries like Lipp, Les Deux Magots, Le café de Flore, Le Procope (the first restaurant dating from the 17th century) are iconic. La Palette, Rue de Seine, whose terrace so coveted by the locals never empties is an emblematic place since 1903, I have been going there for 1000 years! (laughs). And the Bonaparte, always sunny in summer, sublimates the square

The Pont des Arts