VILLAS ON THE COTE:Irish investors have done well buying Cote d'Azur apartments off plans - now they want to switch to villas, says agent Bernie Ennis who has just the thing

BACK IN the heady days of the property boom, when house prices were soaring and money was cheap, Irish buyers were among the most active in the Riviera's property market.

With a reputation for making snap decisions and for having plenty of money, they were courted by property developers the length and breadth of the Cote d'Azur. In many cases apartment developments were launched in Dublin first, before being offered to the local or other markets.

One of the most striking seafront developments in Nice, the art deco Palais de la Mediterran&ée, was offered to French buyers only after Dublin investors had bought up 80 apartments over a single weekend, before the glitzy hotel and apartment scheme was officially on the market.

Many of the buyers hadn't seen the site, some had never been to Nice. All they had to go on was the word of Bernie Ennis, an estate agent who has quietly been selling property on the Riviera for the last 11 years through her company World Homes and Investments. Business was conducted at a furious pace at Ennis's tiny Leeson Street office, where investors sometimes had to queue to fill out the lengthy paperwork associated with buying French property.

Ennis spent much of her time on the ground in the South of France persuading developers to give her clients first choice of some prime apartments. Many invested again and again, and have seen their portfolios treble in value in a decade, according to Ennis.

Now, she says, things are changing. These days her clients are looking for a different product. Having prospered in the boom, and gotten older, they are now looking for villas rather than apartments, homes they can enjoy away from the razzmatazz of Nice and Cannes, where they keep their investments. The change has prompted Ennis to change her strategy.

She and her son Paul Ryan, who recently joined her in the business, have linked up with a French estate agency, Arthur Amilton, which specialises in villa in an around the villages of Mougins, Valbonne and Mandelieu.

Together they've published a new magazine, Cote D'Azur, showcasing villas, most of which are aimed at buyers with €1 million to €2 million to spend. That's not a fortune on the Riviera, where the top end of the market is dominated by deluxe villas priced in the tens of millions. Ennis has some very wealthy clients, but they're also mature people who want to relax.

"Some of them are looking for a place where they can have the children and the grandchildren to stay. They want a nice house, a pool and a view, so that's the kind of property we've been sourcing."

Valbonne is going to be big with Irish buyers, says Ryan, who lived for a time in Nice, but prefers the atmosphere of the village close to Antibes, with its winding streets full of caf&és and restaurants and its lively Friday market based around the lovely arcaded square where you can eat out all year round. "It's been popular with the English for years, but we are just beginning to discover it now. Prices are still reasonable here, and you can get something really special for €1.5 million."

Slightly more expensive, Mougins is appealing for its great restaurants and picture postcard streets; Mandelieu is known as the golf capital of the coast. All three are around 45 minutes from Nice airport.

Ennis and Ryan plan to spend the summer months showing their Irish clients "some very nice villas. We've walked through them ourselves, and we've picked the best," says Ennis, who expects to see many of her old clients signing up for a home rather than an investment on the Cote.

ON THEIR BOOKS:

A 190sq m (2,045sq ft) four-bedroom bastide (or country house) in Mougins has private entrances to two of the bedrooms, which could be used as guest rooms. Accommodation includes a vast lounge with a dining area opening onto the swimming pool and patio and three bathrooms.

Price: €1,272,000

A 350sq m (3,767sq ft) villa with an infinity pool in a residential part of Mandelieu La Napoule, 8kms from Cannes, has a panoramic sea view. Accommodation includes a large lounge with a fireplace, a fitted kitchen, four bedrooms with bathrooms, laundry room, a terrace, cellar and a four-car garage. There is also a 100sq m (1,076sq ft) annex.

Price: €1,800,000

A 163sq m (1,755sq ft) three-bedroom villa in Valbonne has a large livingroom, a diningroom opening onto the garden and a bright kitchen. Surrounded by outdoor terraces, it also has a garage, cellar and swimming pool.

Price: €1,590,000