A little drop of Cognac
Like most of France, property prices throughout Poitou Charente have increased dramatically in recent years. However there is one "hot spot" that has seen a real economic resurgence that looks set to stimulate demand for property for some time to come.
While prices in other parts of France remain susceptible to the vagaries of interest rates, the health of the Euro and the ability of cheap flight airlines to remain in profit the Charente market looks to have an interesting security blanket.
The area around Cognac has always relied heavily on the Worldwide sales of the famous digestif to stimulate the local economy and indeed property values.
Out of a population of around 900,000 it is estimated that 48,000 people owe their living directly to the drinks industry.
Up until the late 1990's everything was rosy in the cobbled streets of Cognac with strong worldwide sales and a seemingly untouchable grip on the luxury drinks market.
Then the collapse of the Asian economy struck home and in marketing terms the industry had to re-invent itself to fight off competitor drinks.
Happily this must be one of the most successful case studies of all time. These days the Cognac industry is thriving again and the region is buzzing with high employment levels, rising property prices and a feelgood factor that sits comfortably alongside the traditional cheery nature of the Charentaise people.
This repositioning has seen startling results in the US - Cognac has become a young, trendy and aspirational drink for "young black America" (who represent 60-80% of US sales), so much so that sales there have tripled over the past 10 years.
But enough of statistics, here's the truly amazing bit. The "eau de vie" is lauded in literally hundreds of rap songs throughout the nightclubs of New York, LA, Miami and Chicago.
This exposure to the US market has meant that the buying pattern of property purchasers has expanded too. Walk into the local immobilliers and you will find American and Canadian accents mixed in with the usual mixture of French , English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Dutch and other Europeans.
The local papers have also been full of stories about the tourist offices running courses in Chinese language and customs. France is readying itself for a huge influx of Chinese tourists now that the barriers of entry have been dropped - they are estimating that the current number of 300,000 could top the million mark within five years. Within 10 years the Chinese will be the highest ranked visitors to France, ahead even of the British.
Of course many of these visitors will be heading straight for the Charente to visit the home of their beloved Cognac.
So what will their yen, dollar, pound or euro buy them?
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.
Moving up to the lower 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 main square in Cognac town centre. The house is in beautiful condition with a large sitting room and a small but pretty garden. There is a strong demand for this type of well situated property and my clients paid the asking price of around 120,000€.
Towards the coast the landscape flattens but the market remains buoyant. I performed a search for clients who wanted a mixture of "country calm" and access to the coast. They had a budget of 150,000€ and we found a charming three bed stone house (yes, it also had the typically Charentaise green shutters) just outside Gemozac. It has a garden big enough for the pool my clients wanted and is a 20 minute drive from the beaches South of Royan.
For a slightly larger budget (175,000€) we found a stunning stone house - pictured - just North of Jarnac. It 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.
The 200,000-300,000€ market sees a healthy demand but limited supply. It's becoming increasingly difficult to find the "gems" in this budget range as good houses sell quickly. 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 a healthy sum in the Charente and would certainly buy a decent family house with views and room for a pool.
One such client was looking for a full time residence with stabling for horses. We found a cracking four bed stone house with 3.5 hectares of land, pool, existing stables, further outbuildings and many retained features including a beautiful old well in the grounds.
In essence the same golden rule applies in France as the UK - think location, location, location. With a booming economy and surrounded by four airports, TGV and the motorway network the Cognac area certainly fits the bill.
Graham Downie runs a property search consultancy covering the Cognac region. Details available at www.cognacproperty.com or call him on 00 33 6 68 53 12 81
About the author:
Graham runs a property search agency covering the Cognac region.
He can be contacted via www.cognacproperty.com
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