France
Now on the MSB books are a completely restored 12-bedroom maison de maître in three hectares (7½ acres) near Libourne for €1.590 million; a five-bedroom 15th- century château with two-hectare (five-acre) gardens near Castillon for €1.66 million and a six-bedroom country house with for- mal garden near the market town of Duras for €1.5 million. Anne-Valérie Devèze of Demeures &
Vignobles, a Sotheby' s International Realty affiliate, confirms the pick-up in the country property market at the end of last year, after two slow years in 2008± 09. `Usually, we see the country-house season start in May and go on through June and July. Already this March, we' ve seen people buy- ing country properties under an hour from Bordeaux.' Buyers have changed their pref- erences over time. `What people are now asking for is more land, more privacy, not to be overlooked. They still want a pretty house, but with more land.' Popular areas are in the forested Landes Girondine around Langon, Bazas, Villandraut and Saint-
Symphorien, where prices range from €600,000± €700,000 to €5 million.
Along with privacy, easy access is also
high on the list of buyers' priorities, accord- ing to Madame Devèze, and that' s a major plus for the Bordeaux area. `You' re close to highways, airports and trains to Paris and to the ocean coastÐ as well as to the moun- tains when a new autoroute will make it only two hours to the Pyrenees and skiing.'
` You' re close to airports, trains to Paris and a new autoroute will make it only two hours to skiing'
She lists one bucolic property set in nine
hectares (22 acres) with a pond, Garonne river views and private landing stage, which is priced at €1.890 million and is just 10 minutes from town. Another, an 18th-cen- tury chartreuse costing €1.365 million, is surrounded by 26 hectares (64 acres) of woods, prairie and kitchen garden with two streams and a spring; a 17th-century manor with panoramic views, a small vineyard,
There are plenty of opportunities to stop and sample the famous wines in Saint-Emilion
68 Country Life International, Summer 2011
www.countrylife.co.uk/international
4 Corners Images; istockphoto; Dreamstime
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