Second-home owners flock to the countryside,
as the region booms
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In January 2016 three regions
of France were amalgamated
to form Nouvelle-Aquitaine
- a vast region, bigger than
Austria.
For the purposes of this report, we
are therefore using the old regions
of Aquitaine, Limousin and PoitouCharentes, so that the market
comment is more targeted and
meaningful.
On a macro-level, the region saw
record property sales in 2022, with
prices rising by 4.6%. The bigger
cities had been experiencing high
demand and unsustainable rises
for some time and last year saw
the end of this cycle, with demand
for country property grabbing the
headlines. Indeed Bordeaux, which
had seen the biggest rises, saw a
slight drop (2.9%) in prices.
The demand for country property
seemed insatiable, coming from
both French buyers and from those
further afield. There was not enough
new stock coming onto the market,
particularly larger properties with
fast broadband and plenty of outside
space. There appear to be three
main drivers behind this:
· Buyers seeking larger and lighter
properties, having felt cooped up
during the pandemic
04 Leggett International Real Estate
· A dramatic jump in flexible working
and the ability to work from home,
or even work from the holiday home
· An influx of buyers from further
south (particularly Spain) who are
seeking a more equitable climate
The first two are well documented.
Once the confinements ended, the
"flight to the country" was reported
across the globe. Rural property was
seen as affordable and a safe haven.
Employers relaxed rules on the
amount of time needed to be spent
in the office and employees sought
a more pleasant work environment,
perhaps with countryside views out
of their office windows. Fortunately,
Alain Rousset, 'Président du Conseil
de Nouvelle-Aquitaine', sees access to
high speed broadband as vital. The
region installed 1.7m fibre points,
many in the most rural of areas, in
a move he called "indispensable for
our economic development".
However, the influx of "climate
migrants" into the region has not
been so well reported. Anecdotally,
our agents have been reporting
that international buyers, seeking
a second-home, have said that they
are looking here rather than in
Spain, Portugal and other traditional
"hot" destinations. The heatwave
last summer saw a high of 47°C in
Portugal, with a long-standing dust
cloud across the Iberian peninsula.
The temperate maritime climate
of SW France (mild winters, warm
summers) is now seen as a major
selling point.
The mainstream French media
has picked up on this trend, and a
research report, undertaken by five
students at the renowned Sciences
Po university, hit the headlines. It
showed that 39% of French people
were "extremely worried" about
climate change and it coined the
phrase migrants climatiques for those
moving north to avoid the extremes
in temperature. Nouvelle-Aquitaine,
with its 720 km long coastline, and
spectacular river valleys and lakes,
looks set to cash in.
In pure economic terms, the region is
in a healthy state. The GDP of 172bn
euros is the third highest in France,
with almost 84,000 new businesses
opening last year. Bordeaux remains
the wine capital of the world and the
growing cognac market, currently
worth around 5bn euros, is forecast
to double by 2032 (source FactMR
global insights).