Visitors look at Cannes properties

With the International Cannes Film Festival underway real estate agents in the south France are expecting a busy week as wealthy Americans connected with the film industry seek out properties.

In between partying on the beach and attending various launches, big business is expected with deals being sealed over champagne and lobster in expensive restaurants.

Property experts report that the hot place in Cannes this year is the hills of La Californie. Picasso made his home in La Californie during the 1950s, and the area is often used as a location for films.

'It's like driving through the Hollywood Hills or Beverly Hills when you're on the roads of La Californie,' said Baris Basaran, a broker with Expat Consulting Real Estate Services. 'The feel and views of the sea are similar.'

Since the prices match the views, it's tough to buy into La Californie for less than $5 million. But there are lower cost pied-a-terres available. There is also a lot of demand in the area known as Super Cannes where the views extend over the bay and to Cap d'Antibes.

Indeed, buyers from all over the world search for homes in Cannes, which boasts boulevards and streets named after a wide range of international figures, from Tsar Alexander III of Russia to U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Those who own rental properties will be doing well this week too as they can command top prices from festival goers. That is, if owners don't mind missing the screenings or have somewhere else in town to stay.

'During the festival, lots of owners rent for astronomical prices,' says Richard Lormand, a film producer and publicist who has attended the festival since 1985. 'The latest, also practiced by most hotels, is to demand a 10-night stay and payment two months ahead, with no reimbursement for cancellation.'

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