Cognac - World famous yet still a "hidden gem."
The property mantra of "location, location, location" is well
known in the UK/US markets but buyers of French property would
also be well advised to follow this golden rule.
You may well have read that house price inflation was slowing in
France (12% in 2005). However, with the European housing market
in the doldrums, the French property market can still offer a
great deal in terms of investment and capital growth.
One of the areas tipped by the experts as a "hot spot" is
Poitou-Charente and the market here was indeed active throughout
the last 12 months. In particular, the area around Cognac in the
Charente seems both sensibly priced and, most importantly, is
extremely well located for overseas buyers.
Cognac is surrounded by no less than four airports (La Rochelle,
Bordeaux, Limoges & Poitiers) as well as being close to both the
Motorway network, allowing a four hour drive to St Malo, and TGV
service at Angouleme from which it is direct access to Paris &
one simple change to London Waterloo.
This all provides a great deal of comfort, as well as
convenience, to those who travel to/from the UK. They know that
regardless of the fortunes of the low cost airlines they will
always have easy access to their holiday homes. Beware those
locations that are solely reliant on one of the smaller airports
it could prove costly.
Of course ease of travel is not the only aspect of location
buyers are looking for. They want decent weather, pretty
villages, friendly locals and plenty of property to choose from.
The Charente has these characteristics in spades.
It is the second sunniest area of France with warm but not
oppressively hot Summers. It also boasts some of the most
beautiful villages in France. You will find them dotted
alongside the Charente river as it meanders it's way through the
countryside. The towns and villages are surrounded by both
sunflowers and of course the vines that produce the grapes for
one of the World's most popular digestifs.
Perhaps the success of the local Cognac, Pineau and wine
accounts for why the locals here are renowned throughout the
country for their laid back and generous attitudes. No holiday
should be taken here without sampling the delights of Remy
Martin, Hennessy, Courvoisier, Martell or one of the many
smaller Cognac houses dotted around.
All of this means that the region is popular with property
buyers throughout Europe & the US - but what do they get for
their money.
Property here is predominantly built out of the local stone
which is light in colour - take a stroll in any local village at
sunset and watch how the houses take on a warm glow. But as well
as stone houses & green (it's common but not obligatory!)
shutters there are still excellent bargains to be had.
At the base level a client of ours has just bought two excellent
plots of land totalling around 4,500 m2 for 50,000€. This land
is 15 minutes South of Cognac and comes with existing planning
permission and access to all utilities. He plans to build three
houses on the land (one for himself, two for letting) and when
we visited the local Mairie they couldn't have been more helpful
in advising on architecture, local planning rules and other
related issues.
At the cheaper end of the housing market a Suffolk couple have
just bought a two bed town house in a good residential area
within 5 minutes walk of the beautiful main square in Cognac
town centre. The house is in excellent condition with a large
sitting room and a small but pretty and well stocked garden.
There is a strong demand for this type of well situated property
and therefore my clients paid the asking price of around
120,000€.
With a slightly larger budget of 175,000€ we found a truly
beautiful stone house just North of Jarnac (home to the
Courvoisier Chateau & birthplace of Francois Mitterand). The
house is big, 180m2 of habitable space, with a garden of 1340m2
which is ample for the "pool and space for a kick around"
demanded by our clients. The house also came with a small,
detached, studio/office and barns ripe for conversion.
Once you hit the 200-300,000€ market you see a really strong
demand from UK purchasers and supply is slightly more limited -
in other words the good houses sell fast. It's becoming
increasingly difficult to find the "gems" in this budget range
but we have recently found a tremendous Charentaise stone house
with five bedrooms and walled garden of 1800m2 for a London
client. He wants it as a holiday home and security was obviously
one of the important search criteria. While not overlooked the
house does have neighbours and access to the walled garden is
limited to the iron gates at the entranceway. Allied to the
obligatory shutters the house is probably as secure as you could
find.
Finally we have had many clients looking with budgets of over
350,000€. This is still a healthy sum in the Charente where
property has not reached the dizzy heights of Provence the Cote
D'Azur or Languedoc Roussillon. Buyers in this category will
still be able to purchase a decent family house, in good
condition with pool and views out over those World famous
vineyards.
In essence buyers at whatever level can look forward to some of
the most beautiful and well priced property in France. They will
have a variety of routes to choose from and should expect decent
weather, a friendly welcome from the locals, great food and of
course a choice of drinks to accompany their meals that is
simply unrivalled anywhere in the World.
Graham Downie runs a property search agency covering the Cognac
region.
He can be contacted on 00 33 6 68 53 12 81 or at
graham@cognacproperty.comFull details of his service are available at
www.cognacproperty.com
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