Buying in Opio

Opio sectors

Opio’s market varies by sector. The figures below are DVF medians of recorded sales (houses sold for €1M or more, 2021–2025 pooled), drawn inside each sector’s cadastral or INSEE boundary, not asking prices. Below 5 sales we publish no figure.

Source: DVF (DGFiP), houses of 100 m² or more sold for €1M or more. For town medians by year, see recently-sold DVF data for Opio.

Market: DVF data

Every sale of a house of 100 m² or more for €1M or more in Opio, as recorded in the DGFiP’s DVF database. This is the complete official record at that price level, not a sample. Period: 2021–2025.

For the year-by-year breakdown (2021–2025), the full methodology, surface and price filters, and DVF pricing caveats, see recently-sold DVF data for Opio. For the sector-by-sector read, see Opio property market in 2026.

International schools

For relocating families, schools within a short drive are a large part of the case for Opio. The options below are either in Opio or within a 15-minute drive.

• Campus International de Valbonne (CIV)

  Baccalauréat Français International · French Baccalaureate · 10 min

  About 2,300 pupils from 65 nationalities. A public collège and lycée preparing the BFI in six international sections, on a 12-hectare campus in Sophia Antipolis.

• Mougins British International School

  British curriculum · IGCSE and A-Levels · 20 min

  Pupils aged 3 to 18 from more than 55 nationalities. Founded in 1964 as Mougins School. IGCSE and A-Levels.

• Mouratoglou International School

  Tennis academy · American curriculum · 15 min

  High-level tennis-study programme in Biot with 33 courts, from US grade 5 to grade 12. American and French curriculum tracks.

• The Hive Academy

  American curriculum · Small classes · 10 min

  Small classes, American curriculum with AP courses. Based in Biot, in the Sophia Antipolis park. Ages 11–18.

Access and golf

Buying in France

The process

1. Offer and compromis de vente. An accepted offer leads to a compromis (preliminary contract) signed before a notaire, with conditional clauses (financing, planning).
2. Cooling-off period. 10 calendar days for the buyer, with no penalty and no reason required.
3. Acte authentique. Final signing 2–3 months later, transfer of title, handover of keys.

Fees and taxes

• Notaire fees: about 7% of the price on resale property in the Alpes-Maritimes (4.50% transfer tax kept, plus emoluments and disbursements), ~2–3% on new-build.
• Taxe foncière + taxe d’habitation. Taxe d’habitation has been abolished on primary residences. It still applies to second homes.
• Capital gains on resale: primary-residence exemption applies. For other property, taper relief over 22 years (income tax) and 30 years (social charges). EU/EEA non-residents face the same scale.
• IFI (real-estate wealth tax): due above €1.3M of net taxable real-estate wealth, progressive scale. Non-residents are taxed only on French-located property.

Structuring: SCI vs direct purchase

An SCI (Société Civile Immobilière) is a structure often preferred by non-resident buyers to ease succession, ring-fence the property from personal estate, and organise family ownership. It carries minimal accounting and a tax choice (transparent or corporate). For a one-off second-home purchase with no succession plan, direct ownership is often simpler. The decision is made with your notaire and, ideally, your home-country tax adviser, because the foreign-tax consequences are sometimes decisive.

Financing

French banks lend to non-residents on slightly tighter terms than to residents: 25–40% deposit typical, 20–25 year maximum term, international income documentation. Specialised non-resident brokers (Cafpi, Vousfinancer, Maël) shorten the timeline. Foreign-currency mortgages (GBP, USD) have been uncommon since 2015. Most files close in euros, which also simplifies the compromis and the acte.

Useful terms

For full definitions (compromis, acte, viager, indivision, SCI, IFI, etc.), see our bilingual glossary (50 terms).

Frequently asked questions