This area borders the Cognac Region and the Charente River valley. Known for being the second sunniest region after the Cote d’Azure, the Charente also benefits from its mild winters. The recent opening of the Ryanair service from Stansted to Angouleme (our regional capital and 30 minutes drive from our office) has meant that the area is now even more accessible to the UK. There are also airports serving the UK at La Rochelle, Limoges, Poitiers, Tours and Bordeaux, all between 45mins and 2 hours drive away. The port of St Malo is 4½ hours drive away and Calais about 7 hours.

Charente Region

The Charente has beautiful properties in lovely locations. Over the last few years the area has experienced growth and investment and property prices are still very favourable. We continue to see bouyant interest from overseas buyers and new interest from Parisian house hunters who, with the extension to the Eurotunnel network, will shortly be only two hours from Paris. With the Lille connections this also means that St Pancras, London will be about six hours from the city of Angouleme.

The present financial climate provides opportunities for buyers. We are contacted on a regular basis by buyers considering lowering the asking prices for their properties so now is the time to be making contact with us to find your home in the Charente.

View properties in this area of France >> Cognac and Charente Properties

Who said the property market was dead in France? Yes, there might be a slow down but there is still plenty of activity.

We are always pleased when one of our private advertisers is successful especially in a niche market such as a Chateau – the chateau was located in the Midi-Pyrenees – and it received much interest!

Let our advertiser Gaynor tell you in her own words:

“After only five months my property has now been sold, I had over fifty inquiries and after three visits a sale was accepted; I wish I had something else to sell! Plus the satisfaction of not having to deal with the estate agents.

Many thanks , great website! I would recommend it to anyone!”

Well if you are looking for a chateau – we do have more – in fact about 125 chateaux at the last count! >> Chateaux for Sale

If you are looking to sell your property in France – you know our site does sell property and not just chateaux! >> Sell Property in France

Good luck!

The weak pound sterling / euro exchange rate could be used to your advantage, according to foreign exchange specialists HiFX.

Mark Bodega, Director of HiFX, says “Most buyers work to a budget and changes in the euro/sterling exchange rate have therefore led to people reviewing what properties they can afford”.

If you are really keen on a property do not give up: “buyers should remember that a drop in demand will mean vendors are also feeling the pinch. This leaves buyers in a position to negotiate prices.”

Investment Property in France

If you have a holiday home or investment property in France – it could be a good time to sell. The euro has strengthened against most currencies. For example, it has changed from 1.48 to 1.24 euros to the pound in the last six months.

So just from a currency angle, you could be sitting on a good profit. If you property was valued at 200,000 euros (£135,000) six months ago. On currency valuation – it would be worth £161,000 today. Nice little potential profit on £26,000 – before expenses and fees.

Have property values decreased in France? They have been fairly stable over the last year but times are getting tougher so a quick sale would be advantageous! More on sell your French Property.

New research shows that the 2 million University students in France are finding it difficult to find accommodation.

Developers are already investing into this new market: for example, Gecina Group acquired 4 new student residences at €28.5 million. Icade purchased a majority holding in developer Opera to add 600 – 800 new rooms per year.

The French CGT rates for foreigners are a max of 16% making this an attractive investment for Buy to Let landlords.

The first months of 2008 have been very slow for French property sales. Our Immobilier have reported low enquiry rates and few viewings. However, since Easter the French Property Market has shown some positive signs with more enquiries and viewings.

A major obstacle has been the strength of the Euro – effectively making French homes more expensive for UK buyers. However, a growing number of potential buyers in the French Property market, have accepted (reluctantly) the new exchange rate. Our opinion is that the 1.45 euros to £1 of 6 months ago is a distant memory. We do NOT expect it to recover to the old rate this year.

Last year the market rose about 4% nationally with some hotspots such as Paris increasing slightly more. Early in 2008, the trends indicate that flats have increased marginally by about 0.5% but re-sales of houses have dropped. We are already seeing properties in France being marketed at more realistic prices.

French Property Market 2008 – the future

We are confident that the French Property market will hold up better than the UK market. Why?

The interest rates in France are lower, the French economy is less exposed to the “credit crunch”, and President Sarkozy via his tax changes is aiming to promote home ownership. We agree with the prediction that house prices in France will fall no more than 5%.