Property in France: Rural retreats
The many character properties in France – from small country cottages to imposing maisons de maître, country estates and châteaux – are one of the main attractions for househunters.
Prices vary considerably due to outside influences, as well as the property’s position within the area. For instance, a country house in the Gironde, not too far from the sea on the west coast and within easy access of Bordeaux, is going to be more highly priced (€689,000) than one in the Cantal, where a beautiful watermill with half an acre is for sale at just €220,000 because it is in central France, a long way from the coast and major cities.
You will find the lowestpriced properties in the most rural areas, often in need of some work. At under €100,000, they are ideal budget purchases, perfect for enjoying the countryside and providing a family holiday home to get away from it all. Most people are more than happy to potter about their home making various adjustments gradually.
However, if you buy a property in need of a substantial amount of work then either be prepared to spend most of your time working on your property or have the extra money available for the work to be completed for you. Buying a property that requires work without the funds or wherewithal to do it will result in owning an unusable and unsaleable property.
For example, priced at €38,500 an ensemble of buildings to renovate in the Charente would only be suitable if you have enough money to restore it. A more expensive property, such as a small stone cottage with two outbuildings, set in over quarter of an acre in Normandy, and priced at €89,675 might prove a better buy if your budget and DIY capability are limited.
Popular areas
As well as these outside influences, there are areas with a certain cachet that, over the years, have become more popular and hence more highly priced in property terms. If you look carefully, there is usually a good reason for the popularity – they may be close to sea and cities, while ease of access by road, rail and air from other major cities, particularly Paris, will increase demand.
Northern France has always been a little less expensive than the south, but there are pockets that command extremely high prices, notably Le Touquet and Deauville among others. In addition to their sandy beaches, these two resorts are easily accessible for Parisians who have bought weekend homes there – over the past 100 years or so, they have made sure there’s everything they could want, including race tracks and superb stabling, indoor and outdoor tennis, a selection of golf courses within easy reach, sailing and sand-surfing clubs, casinos and superb hotels and restaurants.
But once you head inland a little from these resorts to the more rural areas, you will find wonderful properties at superb prices. Some have been made into gîte complexes, offering a home with some rental units on site and often a communal pool. Gîtes were originally located on farms where the farmers’ wives rented out small units to supplement their income – more recently, they have become extremely popular providing home and income to UK buyers, perhaps taking early retirement but still wanting something to do and/or with a need for extra income.
An ideal gîte complex should be reasonably rural but within reach of amenities, perhaps a few pretty villages, or a tourist attraction – there has to be a reason for people to want to spend their holidays there, so a really inaccessible property is not such a good idea.
In Le Touquet, a recently built detached house with almost three-quarters of an acre is on the market for €1,272,000, while in Normandy, an attractive manor offering direct access to Deauville beach, set in landscaped gardens of almost five acres, is for sale at €6,360,000. Head inland from Deauville though and an L-shaped colombage house with outbuildings, set in over an acre, 4km from the nearest amenities, is just €395,000.
Similarly, on the southern coast where properties are the most expensive in France after Paris, once you come inland, say within an hour of the beach, it is possible to find well priced rural properties. For instance, a Provencal-style house set in over half an acre of south-facing grounds with boules pitch, swimming pool and guest apartment, surrounded by a huge sunbathing terrace, near the town of Lorgues in the Var is for sale at €430,000, while a charming stone house in 2.5 acres of grounds surrounded by vines and meadows is on the market at €642,000.
Local location
You may also notice that similar properties in the same area are priced very differently, but the reason may not be immediately obvious. It could be the way the property faces – perhaps it is in a dip between hills and therefore doesn’t get the sun for very long – or perhaps its immediate surroundings are blemished with factories or shopping centres. There might not be a view whereas the higher priced property looks out over rolling fields towards mountains.
You also need to take into account whether the property is situated within walking distance of shops and within a short drive of a market town, or whether it is totally isolated and you will need to spend 30 minutes on the road just to do the weekly shop.
For some people, an isolated property is exactly what they are looking for – lucky them, as it will normally be cheaper the further it is located from amenities and other properties.
Remember that prices are set by demand in an area – ‘position, position, position’ does not always mean that a cheaper property is in a bad position, but that it is in a position that is not so much in demand. It follows that there will be a smaller number of people looking to buy such properties when you come to sell, which in turn will mean that the price cannot be inflated. Buying in a city or close to the sea where the demand is huge due to work opportunities or enjoyment of the beach, means that prices may escalate when the market is booming and slow down when it is not – whereas very the price of rural properties will remain stable, increasing more gradually.
The present financial climate has made it difficult to sell some UK properties and people may be nervous to invest in property in France. However, the French mortgage system has kept people’s borrowings within a more limited percentage of earnings, credit crunch problems are not so great and the market is stable. What’s more, the present worldwide financial concerns may allow ready buyers to negotiate a purchase at a lower price than previously possible, which should negate any increase in the exchange rate for the UK buyer.
Story by, Penny Zoldan is managing director of Latitudes French Property Agents Tel: 020 8951 5155 www.latitudes.co.uk