Toulouse home sells at half price as pool in view of thousands of people

A house near Toulouse has sold for less than half its purchase price because the swimming pool and back gardens are in full view of thousands of people every day as a new cable car route passes directly over it.

The house, near the Occitanie capital, was originally bought for €700,000, but reached just €340,000 at auction. A new cable car runs directly over the property, offering direct views into the garden and pool area.

The property was bought in 2020 by local transport company Tisséo, the builder of the Téléo cable car, which runs over the site.

The property has 150m2 of living space, gardens of more than 4,000m2, and is located just 10-15 minutes’ drive away from Toulouse centre. 

Yet, Tisséo recognised that the cable car location was likely a major negative factor in the property’s attractiveness, so agreed a low starting price of €310,000 (which was set by the national Direction de l’immobilier) when putting the property back on the market.

In the end only two people took part in the auction on the estate agency website immo-interactif.fr, and the price increased by just €30,000 over five bids.

It seems that the overlooked pool and the fact that the house has been empty for four years affected the final price more than expected.

Thousands of people per hour

It probably did not help that the cable car is popular; it is used by around 6,000 people per day on weekdays and 4,500 people on weekends and is open from 05:15 to 00:30. It links cancer research centre l’Oncopole to the Université Paul Sabatier, via the Hôpital de Rangueil, in just 10 minutes.

At peak times, one cabin runs every 90 seconds, and each of the 15 cabins can carry 34 people, for a maximum capacity of around 1,400 people per hour.