What price a slice of heaven? (From Smallholder)
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What price a slice of heaven?
10:17am Wednesday 20th October 2010
Knowing that I live in France, the editor recently asked me to write a short piece on the current rural property market here – with an emphasis on places most suited for smallholders and gardeners.
Having said that, it should be born in mind that virtually all rural houses come equipped with an out-building of some description, a vegetable allotment and possibly even an orchard. Prices of course vary from region to region but if it helps, the average price of a house in France is 196,700 euros.
It seems that most would-be smallholders settle for the Normandy and Brittany regions of France but, apart from the close proximity of the UK and family members left there, why, when things are not too different weather-wise from home?
If you are a horse breeder, then there is undoubtedly some merit in your choice as it is reckoned that climatic conditions are similar to Ireland: both places have a relatively mild climate, a good average rainfall – therefore a plentiful supply of good quality grass – and the bloodlines of some of the best race-horses and hunters.
If such a place appeals, a 5/8 bed-roomed farmhouse with barns, stabling and seven acres can currently be bought at Cormolain, Normandy for 425,000 euros.
However, like the famous imaginary line that runs from the Wash to the Bristol Channel and below which it is reckoned one can grow almost anything, to begin seeing the true side of France, one ideally needs to travel at least south of the western part of the Loire river in order to pick up the best aspects of French living and weather.
The western Loire is famous for its production of salad stuffs. Long poly-tunnels are erected on soil that has, over the millennia, benefited from the deposits left as the Loire river gradually narrowed and provided a most envious tilth that is capable of growing almost any fruit or vegetable.
There is, south of Saumur, a commercial but privately-owned vegetable-growing business, the house for which has, as Mrs Bucket would say in TV’s Keeping up Appearances, “a swimming pool and room for a pony” – all for 285,000 euros.
And are those bargains that were so often talked about a decade ago still available in the region? Well, a little further north at Mayenne in the Pays de la Loire, there is currently a 16th century period stone cottage with land for sale. As the estate agents jargon has it, the property is “to restore”, but at least all fees are included at just under 42,000 euros. Peter Mayle has a lot to answer for. In his book A Year in Provence (frighteningly written over 20 years ago), he described a bucolic provincial rural life that eventually attracted thousands to live in his adopted area and made the Luberon the place to be.
Twenty years ago in the Var department of Provence, a four-bedroomed house in need of some refurbishment could be had for £20,000: last year a roofless ruin in the same place went for 500,000 euros.
If you have the money and a desire to grow grapes, olives or lavender - and also hunt for the famed black truffles in the surrounding woodlands, then this might still just be the area to head for. Fortunately, other parts of rural France remain relatively unscathed – both in terms of ‘in-comers’ and the cost of rural property. At one time, the Deux-Sevres region and the Limousin were officially known as being two of the cheapest areas to live, not only for the price of property, but also lower local tax rates.
The Limousin is beautiful and famed for its farming, as well as a micro-climate that will suit many would-be smallholders.
In Deux Sevres, it seems there are plenty of opportunities. If for example, you’re after a large house with a beautifully-kept traditional barn, a well-equipped workshop and immaculate garden plus ‘allotment’, there is Le Plantis – which also has the benefit of a small, self-contained perfectly equipped second house in the garden that will most certainly ensure that friends and relatives can come and stay without any fear of them encroaching upon your personal space. All yours for 267,000 euros.
In the nearby Charente region, for just 119,900, you could become the proud owner of two, two-bedroom houses needing renovation, a large barn, stone outbuildings, a stable and carpenter’s workshop plus a large garden and a field perfect for cattle or sheep.
In south-west France, the winters are generally mild and summers significantly better than any in the UK, with many parts enjoying a three-month period when rain hardly falls – perfect for the vines but perhaps not ideal for the smallholder.
However, after just enduring a British winter of traipsing through mud and bitter weather conditions, it has to be worth considering n
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