Inland, Toby Hawkins runs a team
that covers the Vienne. House
prices there are lower than in
many regions as it is rural farming,
country with sparse employment
opportunities (except within 30
minutes of cities such as Poitiers
and Châtellerault):
"For clients seeking a quiet
retirement home the options
are picturesque, attractive, and
affordable. The most popular style
of house is the stone-built cottage,
or farmhouse, both of which offer
exceptional value for money. Most
buyers tend to look between 70-
150,000 euros, which is traditionally
a holiday home budget, but more
sales (approx. 75%) have been for
primary residences. In the last 12
months the number of American
buyers has been noticeable, they
tend to be serious, buy quickly and
have bigger budgets. Prices here
are usually stable, with variations of
plus/minus 2% being the norm. Since
prices are low, many sales are cash,
so the rise in interest rates doesn't'
affect the market here as much as in
other areas."
Finally, Tamasin Wagstaffe runs
a team in the north of the DeuxSèvres,
they too have seen an
increase in demand from across the
Atlantic:
"It seems to be driven by a mixture of
the strength of the dollar against the
euro, and political issues. We have
been selling well to Americans and
many of them mention the desire
to leave before former President
Trump returns to power. There
are plenty of Europeans buying
too and up to mid 2022 they were
looking at all budgets. Since then we
have seen a trend amongst French
buyers to snap up less expensive
investment properties. The price of
rural property here tends to remain
pretty stable. Nicely maintained
properties, with a decent level
of insulation can expect offers of
around 1,000/1,100 euros per
m² in the north, and a little more
in the centre of the department.
Buyers are becoming more exacting,
expecting good thermal efficiency
and low running costs.
There is little appetite for
renovation projects, due to the high
costs of artisans/materials - the
one caveat is the growing interest
in properties lending themselves to
self-sufficiency - those with wells,
possibility for electricity production,
space for a potager, and so forth."
11
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