Housing boom hurts industry in Sophia Antipolis

Currently the 26,000 strong workforce in the technology centre is spread throughout the region, with 26 per cent living in Bassin de Sophia, 18.8 per cent in Antibes, 13.4 per cent in Nice, and 13.2 per cent in Grasse.

According to local reports at least three quarters of the region’s workers cannot afford to live there. Such high prices risk slowing development of the technical industry in the region and halting economic growth. New companies could be discouraged from investing in the region and the expensive real estate could prove to be an obstacle in keeping Sophia Antipolis competitive in the international market. Plans are now in the pipeline to purchase large sectors of land in the area, where local constructors will build homes designed to house the workforce.