Pick of the crop

The city of Carcassonne

Locating the perfect holiday hideaway is not straightforward in the Languedoc-Roussillon. “Unlike neighbouring Provence – which is between 30 and 50 per cent more expensive – the Languedoc is mainly vineyards, and so there are few farmhouses and few stunning coastal villas,” says Hugh Atkins of Pure France letting agency.

Home of the Corbières and Minervois wines, the Languedoc is the largest wine-producing area of France and the most sought-after properties reflect this. “Everybody would love to have a little stone house with two or three hectares of vines but they are not easy to get,” says Paddy Gibbins, who runs Artaxa estate agency and is an associate of Savills.

Buying a smart maison de vigneron, or wine-grower’s home, in a coastal village will cost about €350,000- €400,000, while a seven-bedroom farmhouse is around €800,000. Agents Knight Frank are selling a five-bedroom villa near the Gard département on the Languedoc-Provence border for €975,000. Similarly priced and equally characterful are town houses built within the stone walls of the old circulades, the medieval hilltop villages built in concentric circles that are unique to the Languedoc.

But if only a home with vines will do, then Gibbins advises buying the house first, “with a view to buying vines separately, later” (a hectare of vines costs around €20,000). Many buyers therefore opt for rural villas built within the past 60 years, situated near a small, five-hectare vineyard.

Prices in the Languedoc, particularly outside the cities, “have fallen by 30 per cent”, says Gibbins, and high-end villas without vineyards that cost €900,000-€1m four years ago are now on sale for €700,000-€750,000. French estate agency Leggett is selling a magnificent 19th-century château with gite and outbuildings close to Carcassonne, reduced from €2,120,000 to €1,908,000.

For those who prefer to enjoy the fruit of the vine rather than maintain them, there are more convenient homeowning options. There is a small but thriving industry in the Languedoc converting historic buildings such as châteaux, wine domains (manor houses with outbuildings) and abbeys into residential resorts aimed at the second-home market.

Dominique Jaumouille, who works in Bordeaux, has just bought a one-bedroom apartment off-plan with his wife Valerie in La Distillerie, a redevelopment of a wine-making distillery that also includes new-build apartments. Located in Pézanas, a medieval market town with cobbled streets and only half an hour from the Mediterranean coast, the former warehouse will have 49 apartments in total as well as a pool, spa and restaurants. Prices start from €120,000 and go up to €392,000 for three bedrooms.

Garrigae, the developer and managing agent, specialises in off-plan redevelopments (which are tightly regulated in France) that are also lease-back. This unique French scheme, in which the owners “lease-back” their homes to a management company, was designed to encourage tourist accommodation in the area. Buyers can reclaim VAT at 19.6 per cent as long as the property is let out and owners do not occupy it for more than 182 days a year. Depending on the extent of their own personal use, a buyers’ rental yield will vary between 4.5 per cent (no personal use) and 2 per cent (half use/half let). There are also additional tax incentives for French taxpayers, which enhances their appeal.

“My apartment is mainly for investment, though it is quite flexible and in a few years, when we have more time, I hope we will use it three or four weeks of the year,” says Jaumouille.

Garrigae’s conversions are well-situated historic buildings such as Le Domaine de la Mandoune, a 19th-century château with wine-making buildings on the shores of Bassin de Thau, a natural saltwater lake. Surrounded by vineyards with access to the sea, it is about to be redeveloped into 30 apartments and is a 10-minute drive from the port of Marseillan. Three-bedroom apartments go for up to €540,000 and will be open in 2013.

A 19th-century château with gite and outbuildings reduced from €2,120,000 to €1,908,000, with Leggett

Inland is the 18th-century Château de la Redorte in the quaint village of La Redorte, that is also being redeveloped. Out of the planned 39 homes, 10 will be derived from the converted château and 28 will be new-build apartments. A working vineyard, Domaine Massamier La Mignarde, is attached. Three-bedroom apartments are €385,000 and both developments will open in 2013. These resorts are attractive to investors due to their elegant pools and restaurants and are “easily rented out,” says Ann Mizrachi of Latitudes estate agents.

Homebuyers wanting more flexible use, or even a permanent home, could consider a straightforward conversion. A two-bedroom apartment in a turreted château costs around €400,000 rising to €850,000 for a three-bedroom three-floor house in a converted winery, and is “between 30 per cent and 40 per cent more than new-build,” says Karl O’Hanlan, the former managing director of Garrigae, who now runs Domaine and Demeure, a redevelopment and lettings company that converts historic buildings with no additional new-build and no lease-back.

“The area is continuing to change,” says O’Hanlan, “and the direction is very much upmarket.”

In the past nine years, the Languedoc has had infrastructure investment of more than €10bn, including the A75 motorway to Paris (six hours by car) and the fast TGV train from Montpellier to Paris (three hours 20 minutes). The Languedoc has five airports (Nîmes, Montpellier, Carcassonne, Béziers and Perpignan).

“Most of the people who come here integrate well and live in the villages,” says Laurence Boxall, publisher of Languedoc Sun magazine. “The Languedoc has kept its markets and traditions and it is still very French.”

Nicola Venning stayed as a guest of Garrigae Properties

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Buying guide

Pros

● Mediterranean climate and lifestyle

● Easily accessible with good road, rail and airports

● Architecturally varied and attractive period properties

Cons

● Finding a detached villa or farmhouse with vines is difficult

● The area is generally becoming more expensive

● Some villages and developments are remote

What you can buy for ...

€100,000

Artaxa is selling a two-bedroom “maison de village”, 50km north of Béziers and 63km from the beach, for €99,000

€1m

Sextant properties are selling a six-bedroom converted monastery with a swimming pool, chapel and outbuildings, set in 0.65 hectares and situated 10 minutes from Pézanas, for €1,040,000

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Details

● Artaxa www.artaxa.com

● Latitudes www.latitudes.com

● Garrigae www.garrigaeresorts.com

● Domaine & Demeure www.domainedemeure.com

● Savills www.savills.com

● Pure France www.purefrance.com

● Sextant www.sextantproperties.com

● Leggett www.frenchestateagents.com