Where to Find Cheap Property for Sale in France

The Basque Country and beyond
With direct, low-cost flights into Biarritz and Pau (plus Bilbao, across the Spanish border), the Pyrnes-Atlantiques dpartement is easily reached from the UK. Most visitors are familiar with bourgeois Biarritz and its chic, art deco architecture, but beyond the cosmopolitan town is a less-populated landscape of palm-fringed coast, rolling green countryside, white-water rivers, forests and mountain peaks, where the thermometer rarely dips below six degrees Celsius.

To the north of the county, the Landes area encompasses pine forests and vast, deserted beaches; one of Frances least-populated areas, it is perfect for property hunters craving unspoilt scenery. Property for sale on the coast will always command high prices, but head half an hour inland and there are vast farms with land starting from €550,000, says Julia Troccaz of Beyond Biarritz. Basque farmsteads traditionally housed both family and livestock, so this kind of property comes with huge amounts of living space; villages like Sare, Ascain and Espelette are attractive, well-kept, and still relatively near the Atlantic.

Farms to be renovated cost from €300,000 (£240,000), but remember to factor in the work needed to render the property habitable; materials and labour are expensive here, according to Troccaz, who suggests that the best buys to be had in Landes are directly inland from the popular resorts of Capbreton and Hossegor: Prices of property for sale in Landes are lower than around Biarritz, because theres more available land, yet the access is still incredibly good; you can be 15 minutes inland but only 20 minutes from Biarritz airport, five minutes from the motorway, and 25 minutes from Saint-Jean-de-Luz.

Budget upwards of €500,000 (£397,000) for a renovated Landaise farm with around 6,000 square metres of land.

Lozere - the road less travelled
Down on the Mediterranean coast, the region of Languedoc-Roussillon is made up of five administrative departments, of which only one Lozère lacks a coastline. This hilly, land-locked area of long, winding roads has low visitor numbers and an even lower profile, particularly when it comes to British property buyers (figures released last year classified Lozère as the French dpartement with the lowest number of overseas-property owners, qualifying the presence of Johnny Foreigner as insignificant.)

This authentically French spot is also very quiet: French news magazine LExpress and its 2007 Best Places to Live in France survey voted Lozère the ideal retirement destination, by dint of its unspoilt landscapes, quiet roads, and low pollution and crime rates. It has a small population (around 73,500, which works out as 14 locals per square metre), and arguably not much in the way of cultural infrastructure (the area is ranked 94th out of 96 on this particular point), but Lozère is undeniably well suited to those in search of a quiet, safe base, and property for sale in Lozère comes cheap.

The LExpress survey ranks Lozère as the seventh least-expensive area to buy property in.

Alex Charles of Crème de Languedoc comments: You wont find much opportunity for capital growth or rental potential, but Lozères property market offers great value, and its large, stone-built properties are perfect for self-sufficient types with the necessary know-how. Your money will go further here than in the Languedocs busier southern areas of Gard and Hrault. A budget of €242,000 (£192,000) buys a two-bedroom stone property set in 1.5 acres [over half a hectare] of land in the Cvennes national park, which would be ideal for nature lovers; or, for twice the price were selling a vast, five-bedroom, renovated farmhouse with outbuildings, with an acre [just under half a hectare] of ground near the village of Florac.

Cognac - Tipped to rise
The Charente area sits amid the undulating countryside and forests of western Frances Poitou-Charentes region, and has been in the spotlight recently for two reasons.

Firstly, some of the worlds most famous brandy is produced in the Charente town of Cognac, and sales of this precious tipple reached a new all-time high in 2007. With business booming, the cherry on the cake for locals was the opening, in spring this year, of the new Angoulême-Cognac airport, with direct flights to London Stansted.

"Its bound to have a positive effect on the property market in and around Cognac and Jarnac," says Graham Downie, a property search agent who tips this part of western France to soar. There are several reasons that make the Cognac area worth a look: it has a very convenient location, within striking distance of four airports, and only five and a half hours by train from London; the cognac industry makes it an affluent area popular with tourists, who come to visit Rmy Martin, Hennessy, Martell and Courvoisier, which means its lively year-round; and the thriving local economy spells good news for property owners and investors alike.

Figures released in June 2008 show that of the nine areas that make up Poitou-Charentes, property for sale in Charente has the most accessibly priced dwellings, and its traditional stone properties will appeal to property buyers with a penchant for character property. According to Downie, a two-bedroom townhouse within five minutes walk of Cognacs main square can be picked up for around €120,000 (£95,000), while €200,000 (£159,000) bags a three-bedroom stone property in a nearby village, with a small garden and easy access to shops and restaurants. For an imposing four- to six-bedroom property with pool, walled garden and vineyard views (the kind coveted by many UK property buyers), allow €300,000 to €450,000 (£240,000 to £355,000); in the lively market town of Jarnac (home to the house of Courvoisier), a three-bedroom property in immaculate condition, with pool and garden, is selling for just under €400,000 (£318,000).