Buying property in Centre-Val de Loire
Centre-Val de Loire is at the heart of France. Literally, if you picture France as a body, it covers the central region where the heart would be.
It’s a large region which includes the beautiful city of Orleans, although its largest city is Tours, with over 135,000 residents.
There are many reasons why someone might be interested in buying property in Centre-Val de Loire. Its country areas have a gentle natural beauty, all within easy reach of Paris. As the name implies, the Loire River flows through it, with grand chateaux galore. But it’s a region of affordable country homes too.
However, it actually has relatively few international property owners, with most of its six departments registering fewer than one in a hundred properties owned by foreigners. The exception is Indre, which attracts 3 to 5%.
Guerande, Loire Atlantique, France. Discovery of the medieval fortified town of Guerande. Image: DIDIER FOTO via Shutterstock
Why buy a property in Centre-Val de Loire?
“The garden of France”, Centre-Val de Loire has an abundance of vineyards, orchards, asparagus and artichoke fields. Every town will have a weekly market, at least, to buy the best of the local produce.
The Loire Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage listing, is a paradise for wine lovers, home to Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé and Vouvray. Residents can spend their weekends exploring vineyards, sampling wines and learning about the intricate process of winemaking.
Chartres, with its awe-inspiring cathedral, and Blois with its grand Renaissance castle, are characteristic of historic French architecture.
The region offers plenty of opportunities for cycling, hiking, and boating along the Loire River. The river is dotted with picturesque villages like Chinon, which is enveloped by vineyards and dominated by a fortress.
What can you buy for your money in Centre-Val de Loire:
Cities like Chartres and Orleans offer a mix of urban amenities, excellent travel connections and a more relaxed lifestyle than the French capital. The metropolitan property market in Centre-Val de Loire is largely dominated by apartments and you’ll pay an average of €2,600 per square metre for an apartment in Orleans and a little more in Tours.
As you go further from Paris the prices fall. So while the average price for an older house in Orleans is €231,000 it’s close to half that in Chateauroux, a town of 44,000 in the south of the region.
In and around the Loire Valley, you’ll find chateaux and Maisons de Maitre built for French nobility and once occupied by society’s elite. Today, they boast opulent designs and often come with large plots of land, vast gardens and sometimes, ornate interiors. If that’s what you’re looking for, discover Chambord, Villandry, Amboise and Blois.
Family homes and farmhouses are also in abundance in the region and the average resale home can vary between €180,000 – €200,000.
Centre-Val de Loire’s property prices vary by location and type, with an average of €1,500 per square metre for apartments and around €150,000 for houses. Indre offers more affordable housing, with an average house price of €80,000. According to Notaires, Tours is the most expensive city in the region, with an average house price of €273,5000, considerably more than in Chateauroux, where the median price is €130,000.
Amboise, in the Loire valley. (Gennady Stetsenko / Shutterstock.com)
Steps to buying property in Centre-Val de Loire
- Define your criteria: Determine what you’re looking for in terms of property type, location, budget and must-have features.
- Research: Use online resources, visit local real estate agencies and explore the area to find properties that match your criteria. Book your place at the Your Overseas Home Virtual Event.
- Speak to a currency expert: Moving exchange rates are a risk in international property purchases, so discuss managing that risk with a forward contract that fixes your exchange rate.
- Legal considerations: Familiarise yourself with the French property buying process, including the role of the notaire , who handles the legal aspects of the sale. Contact an independent lawyer at this stage.
- Financing: Investigate mortgage options if required. French banks offer loans to non-residents, but it’s advisable to compare rates and terms.
- Book your viewing/scouting trip: Download the guide, contact estate agents an book your tickets.
- Making an offer: Once you find a property you like, you can make an offer. If accepted, you’ll sign a preliminary contract (compromis de vente or a promesse de vente) and pay a deposit.
- Completion: The final sale is completed when the acte de vente is signed at the notaire’s office, and the balance of the purchase price is paid.
Costs of buying property in Centre-Val de Loire
When buying property in Centre-Val de Loire, the buyer is responsible for notaire fees, which average 7-8% of the property price (or 2-3% for new homes) and will have to also consider estate agent fees (although often included in the property price) and homeowner taxes.
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