Bordeaux Beckons…

From the coast to the vineyards, Gironde has everything while its capital city Bordeaux conjures up images of the elegance of French culture from the renaissance era…

One of the first areas of France to be popular with British settlers the Anglo-French relationship here goes back all the way to the 13th century when rivalry between the two countries was prevalent. It’s not hard to see why the British were so keen on this beautiful area when you just look at the diversity of its landscape encompassing rolling hills and fortified (Bastide) towns in Entre-deux-Mers to the east and the long sandy beaches lined with hundreds of miles of pine tree forest to the west. The wealthy Parisians and Bordelaises have been visiting this part of the Atlantic coast for years many of whom had their own weekend or summer villa here from where they could enjoy a more tranquil atmosphere and cooler climate than that found in the busy seaside towns of the Cote d’Azur where the hussle and bustle of the tourists in the summer months can be all too apparent. There is so much heritage, culture and tradition in the area and when you venture inland the number of famous vineyards and wine growing regions that you find around you is quite incredible: St Emilion, Medoc and Graves- they’re all here! The region’s capital city Bordeaux also holds a great attraction to the French and tourists alike and has gone a substantial amount of rejuvenation in recent years not least on its spectacular 18th century waterfront.

Property prices in the area are a bit of a mixed bag with prices between coastal and countryside properties being substantially different where countryside residences can be found for half the price of those found on the coast. The types of property range from pretty new build villas and apartments on the coast to neo-classical renaissance architecture in the city of Bordeaux and large majestic vineyards further inland with their imposing and charming stone-built Bastides. The latter in fact right now offer some of the best deals around as many vineyard owners are being forced to sell up as over supply of their produce and fierce competition with “New-world” wines has caused profits to slump. This means that whether or not you are interested in actually running a vineyard you can buy the property for song (comparatively!) and become the owner of an incredible stone-built bastide which could become your family home or possibly turn it into a successful Gite or B&B complex.

Over the past few years Bordeaux has seen price rises atleast equal to France’s national average- in fact in 2005 prices rose by an average of 17% compared to 10.9% across France. These sorts of price rises and healthy rental income has encouraged a good deal of Buy-to let investment not only for New Build housing for professionals working in the city but also for renovated neo-classical properties which always have fantastic spacious rooms and beautiful high ceilings usually with artistic mouldings. As Bordeaux is such a thriving city with good levels of employment and centre for commerce wages have been forced upwards and are consistent which in turn bolsters the buy-to-let market.

A large renovated country property with 5 bedrooms, 1.5 acres of land with outbuildings are start at around 360,000 Euros (VH220643 - 1st image above), while a 2 bedroom holiday apartment on the coast can be bought at 162,695 Euros (LLFP0020 - 2nd image above) and a pure buy to let investment property in Bordeaux centre with yields of 5% per annum start at 83,000 Euros (LLFP0094 - 3rd image above).