Cognac - World famous yet still a "hidden gem".

The property mantra of "location, location, location" is well known in the UK/US markets but buyers of French property would also be well advised to follow this golden rule.

You may well have read that house price inflation was slowing in France (12% in 2005). However, with the European housing market in the doldrums, the French property market can still offer a great deal in terms of investment and capital growth.

One of the areas tipped by the experts as a "hot spot" is Poitou-Charente and the market here was indeed active throughout the last 12 months. In particular the area around Cognac in the Charente seems both sensibly priced and, most importantly, is extremely well located for overseas buyers.

Cognac is surrounded by no less than four airports (La Rochelle, Bordeaux, Limoges & Poitiers) as well as being close to both the Motorway network, allowing a four hour drive to St Malo, and TGV service at Angouleme from which it is direct access to Paris & one simple change to London Waterloo.

This all provides a great deal of comfort, as well as convenience, to those who travel to/from the UK. They know that regardless of the fortunes of the low cost airlines they will always have easy access to their holiday homes. Beware those locations that are solely reliant on one of the smaller airports it could prove costly.

Of course ease of travel is not the only aspect of location buyers are looking for. They want decent weather, pretty villages, friendly locals and plenty of property to choose from. The Charente has these characteristics in spades.

It is the second sunniest area of France with warm but not oppressively hot Summers. It also boasts some of the most beautiful villages in France. You will find them dotted alongside the Charente river as it meanders it's way through the countryside. The towns and villages are surrounded by both sunflowers and of course the vines that produce the grapes for one of the World's most popular digestifs.

Perhaps the success of the local Cognac, Pineau and wine accounts for why the locals here are renowned throughout the country for their laid back and generous attitudes. No holiday should be taken here without sampling the delights of Remy Martin, Hennessy, Courvoisier, Martell or one of the many smaller Cognac houses dotted around.

All of this means that the region is popular with property buyers throughout Europe & the US - but what do they get for their money.

Property here is predominantly built out of the local stone which is light in colour - take a stroll in any local village at sunset and watch how the houses take on a warm glow. But as well as stone houses & green (it's common but not obligatory!) shutters there are still excellent bargains to be had.

At the base level a client of ours has just bought two excellent plots of land totalling around 4,500 m2 for 50,000€. This land is 15 minutes South of Cognac and comes with existing planning permission and access to all utilities. He plans to build three houses on the land (one for himself, two for letting) and when we visited the local Mairie they couldn't have been more helpful in advising on architecture, local planning rules and other related issues.

At the cheaper end of the housing market a Suffolk couple have just bought a two bed town house in a good residential area within 5 minutes walk of the beautiful main square in Cognac town centre. The house is in excellent condition with a large sitting room and a small but pretty and well stocked garden. There is a strong demand for this type of well situated property and therefore my clients paid the asking price of around 120,000€.

With a slightly larger budget of 175,000€ we found a truly beautiful stone house just North of Jarnac (home to the Courvoisier Chateau & birthplace of Francois Mitterand). The house is big, 180m2 of habitable space, with a garden of 1340m2 which is ample for the "pool and space for a kick around" demanded by our clients. The house also came with a small, detached, studio/office and barns ripe for conversion.

Once you hit the 200-300,000€ market you see a really strong demand from UK purchasers and supply is slightly more limited - in other words the good houses sell fast. It's becoming increasingly difficult to find the "gems" in this budget range but we have recently found a tremendous Charentaise stone house with five bedrooms and walled garden of 1800m2 for a London client. He wants it as a holiday home and security was obviously one of the important search criteria. While not overlooked the house does have neighbours and access to the walled garden is limited to the iron gates at the entranceway. Allied to the obligatory shutters the house is probably as secure as you could find.

Finally we have had many clients looking with budgets of over 350,000€. This is still a healthy sum in the Charente where property has not reached the dizzy heights of Provence the Cote D'Azur or Languedoc Roussillon. Buyers in this category will still be able to purchase a decent family house, in good condition with pool and views out over those World famous vineyards.

In essence buyers at whatever level can look forward to some of the most beautiful and well priced property in France. They will have a variety of routes to choose from and should expect decent weather, a friendly welcome from the locals, great food and of course a choice of drinks to accompany their meals that is simply unrivalled anywhere in the World.

Graham Downie runs a property search agency covering the Cognac region.

He can be contacted on 00 33 6 68 53 12 81 or at graham@cognacproperty.com

Full details of his service are available at www.cognacproperty.com



About the author:

Graham has 20 yrs experience in European real estate.

He can be contacted via www.cognacproperty.com