INTERVIEW
they might need some TLC, but they’re perfectly good for holiday homes. €100,000-€250,000: In central Brittany this is our main price bracket, and there’s lots of choice. At the higher end, we have a 17th-century house with a one-bedroom gîte, outbuilding and 4.5 acres. €250,000-€500,000: Inland, this gives you a choice of some really nice properties – small renovated manor houses, or gîte complexes with three to fi ve gîtes as well as the main house. €500,000-€750,000: As you move closer to the coast and the main towns, prices increase, but towards the southern coast we have a large house with fi ve bedrooms and a three- bedroom gîte as well as a covered heated pool. €750,000-€1m: This will fi nd you anything from a small château inland to a spacious home in a town, or a reasonable two/three-bedroom house on the coast. Over €1m: This brings you into the realms of executive townhouses in the main cities (Rennes, Vannes, Brest, Quimper, Morlaix and St-Brieuc) or fully renovated Renaissance châteaux, which start around this price and go up to about €4m depending on location.
What’s the cheapest property on your books right now? We have a stone barn for complete renovation with a haybarn and quarter-acre of land at €14,000.
What’s the most unusual property you have sold? That’s a hard question to answer – with over 35 years in
LOCATION
“In Brittany you can enjoy a laidback way of life with good seafood restaurants”
With its fi ne sandy beaches and marina,
Concarneau is sought aſt er
the business and hundreds of sales of ‘normal’ houses, I have grown a preference for unusual property these days. The two that stand out are a three-room windmill in the woods near Redon, and an 82-room abbey that has been converted into a hotel near the northern coast.
Of the properties on your books at the moment, which one would be your dream home? At the moment I’d have to say the 15-room renovated château in the Haute-Vienne for sale at €1.4m, but I do admit to having controlled delusions of grandeur! And besides it’s not the right area for me. That will no doubt change in the near future as we are launching a prestige side to the agency.
What advice would you give to somebody thinking of buying in your area? If they were looking in Brittany in general, I would concentrate on the triangle formed by Quimperlé and Vannes on the coast and Loudéac in the centre. I fi nd this is quite an opulent area, with great countryside and
the best weather in Brittany. There is a good choice of properties in all price brackets.
What tips would you give to help people settle into life in the area? Most villages in France are very community based, so integrating is important. You don’t have to go all out, you don’t have to join every local club, just remember that common courtesy is still very much alive. Say “bonjour” to the people you meet, or when you are out walking; use your local shops, baker’s and bars; but most importantly, however limited your French is, please use it. If you only know bonjour, non and oui, use them where you can. As the French always say to foreigners trying to speak the language, “we laugh with you, not at you”.
What are your predictions for the local property market? We have just come out of a very active vendors’ market, mainly thanks to the French banks overzealously tightening down on fi nance; a lot of potential
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French buyers suddenly found they were no longer eligible for that loan the bank had promised. This has led to a drop in prices of around 5%, but I don’t think they will drop any further due to the banks. In France, loans are based on the property, rather than the person, thus if you wish to sell and buy something else, you need to pay off the bank with your sale for the fi rst loan, then renegotiate another loan for the next one, and the banks very rarely accept taking a loss over a short period. Thus, market prices can’t drop as drastically as they can in other countries. ■
Dan Newton is director and co- founder of Agence Newton Tel: 0033 (0)2 22 44 40 80
agencenewton.com
HOUSE PRICES
How much would you expect to pay for:
A detached property with land in good condition? I would say an average price, in a rural area close to a town, would be around the €200,000 mark.
A three-bedroom townhouse? That depends on the town; in a small market town like Guémené-sur-Scorff , you can fi nd something for about €180,000. In Vannes though, you would need at least €500,000.
€446,000: Complex of fi ve houses, an apartment, small campsite and pool, all on just over an acre of land, a short drive from Mûr-de-Bretagne, and the popular Lac de Guerlédan
€464,000: Impressive four- bedroom, two-bathroom 17th-century manor house on the outskirts of Taulé near Morlaix and less than 10 minutes to beautiful Carantec beach
€650,000: Set in the Languidic countryside, less than 30 minutes from Morbihan's beaches, this eight-bedroom maison de maître- style property has 2,500m2 gardens and a heated pool
of
A renovation opportunity? If you are ready for the rural life, you can fi nd a project for upwards of €20,000.
FRENCH PROPERTY NEWS: May/June 202453
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