British international property buyers always love France. The enormous variety of property available, from chalets in The Alps to chic apartments in Paris, draws buyers with different requirements to different areas, and parts of the country. Some are looking for a holiday home, others perhaps to set up a business, but there are definate trends in what people have been particularly looking for of late.
Tim Swannie of Home Hunts works with countless British would-be buyers looking for French luxury property in France every year, and says he’s found one of the latest interesting trends is for chateaux with vinelands: ‘Vineyards seem to be a huge thing for us at present, we agreed sales on a number of them in 2012 and we have a lot of clients coming over this new year to look at vineyards, mainly in the Bordeaux area but also in Languedoc, Roussillon and Provence. ‘We have a large number of Chinese clients for vineyards as well as UK, Russian and European buyers.’
For more luxury houses for sale in France, visit www.home-hunts.com.
Vineyards for sale in France
Bordeaux
€8,480,000
This exceptional 19th century Bordeaux propertyis a jewel of a petit Chateau and one of the most sophisticated well run vignoble in the Haut Medoc. The Chateau itself is a show piece for the wines with a large tasting room, three bedrooms that are mainly used for visitors and an independent flat. Adjoining the property is a magnificent contemporary Chateau which may be bought be separate negotiation.
Provence
POA
This is a unique estate in a peaceful and idyllic setting in the Provence countryside. The estate comprises of 23 hectares of land including vines, an olive grove, woodland and formal gardens. The main house is a five bedroom, dressed stone farmhouse with separate spacious apartment. There is also a two bed roomed guardian house and a huge stone barn with full wine making and bottling facilities (and a very impressive wine cellar).
Most people looking for vineyard properties have budgets between €1.5M and €2.5M, says Mr Swannie. If it is purely for business purposes, there are a lot of buyers looking for well-known vineyards with chateaux, and their budgets can be from €5M all the way up to €50M
Luxury French Riviera houses for sale
Looking south, the Riviera will continue to be as popular as ever, Mr Swannie predicts. ‘The Valbonne, Biot and Mougins areas are consistently popular with international buyers who are either relocating or looking for a holiday home which is close to airports, beaches etc but in a quiet and peaceful location,’ he says. ‘Cap d’Antibes and Cap Ferrat will also continue to attract the very wealthy from around the world, particularly Russia, Middle East, China, Brazil and here in the UK.’
Valbonne
€1,395,000
This apartment comes with a private pool and terrace overlooking beautiful wooded land and offers approximately 172m2 of living space including a huge open plan living/dining room with kitchen, three en suite bedrooms and a huge terrace with pool.
It is located within a few minutes walk from Valbonne and its lively restaurants, bars and pretty shops.
Mougins
POA
This beautiful five-bedroom property offers approximately 330m2 of living space and is just a few steps away from the main square of this hilltop village. It benefits from a panoramic sea view as well as a large swimming pool which is extremely rare in this location.
In the Riviera villages, the most popular price range is between €1M and €3M, or for the Caps it is really €3-5M, with some of the very wealthy looking for waterfront properties which sell for €20M upwards.
St Jean Cap Ferrat
€6,200,000
This Belle Epoque-style mansion built in 1915 has 280m2 of interior space and a mature garden of 2000m2, located in a residential area of Cap Ferrat.
The villa features a dining room with fireplace, kitchen, and upstairs are four bedrooms, two bathrooms and a shower room, plus an independent studio and independent one-bedroom apartment plus a large garage for two cars.
‘As well as this, we have had a large number of enquiries for the Luberon. We get a lot of British, Dutch and Scandinavian clients for this area because they love the way of life, the scenery and the food that Provence offers,’
Provence luxury houses for sale
Luberon
€2,600,000
Located at the foot of the South Luberon, the charming stone farmhouse dates back to the16th century and sits on a plot over over nine hectares. With a living space of around 322m2, accommodation includes a traditional kitchen, a vaulted dining-room, an office, a bright bedroom with terracotta floors and a direct access to the outside.
The first floor has four elegant and comfortable bedrooms, each with a private bathroom.
For more information on all these French properties for sale please contact Home Hunts on +44 (0)208 144 5501.
