Prime France: Gers and the Dordogne
Traditionally, the property market in the South West lags the rest of France’s prime markets by six to 12 months, which suggests we are likely to see activity strengthen as French buyers continue to relocate or purchase second homes in key hotspots such as Bergerac, Auch and Condom. This should also coincide with travel restrictions easing for those international buyers from further afield.
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Gers & The Dordogne are home to some 36,241 second homes, accounting for 13% of all homes in the two departments according to France’s National Statistics Office, INSEE.
Unbuffered by the pandemic, the number of existing property sales in the region totalled 17,061 in the year to February 2021, an increase of 3% year-onyear according to France’s CGEDD.
Following a 30% decline in prime prices in peak-to-trough terms in the wake of the global financial crisis, prices have nudged higher but at a slower rate than neighbouring regions. Prime prices are on average 5% higher than in 2015 but at around €1,800 per sq m significantly lower than second home hotspots in Provence, the Alps or the Côte d’Azur.
Buyers are typically seeking a traditional French farmhouse priced between €800,000 and €1.2 million or more generous accommodation in the form of a chateau in need of modernisation.
Popular with British buyers, Brexit will have a bearing on buyer sentiment in the region but the overlap with the pandemic has made it hard to gauge to what extent British homeowners will either sell up, apply for French citizenship or opt to rent their second home for longer periods now that they are subject to the 90/180 day rule.
When travel was permitted in 2020, Belgian and Dutch buyers were also active in the region.
Work is due to start on a high-speed TGV trainline in 2024, five years ahead of schedule. The new direct rail link between Paris and Toulouse with a stop at Bordeaux will cut journey times by 90 minutes to three hours making it an easy weekend bolthole for Parisians, those located in the north of France as well as international buyers who fly into Paris’ major airports.