French Property Location Guide: Loire Valley

Stunning châteaux, fabulous wine and picturesque landscapes: you could say that the Loire Valley offers the very best of French culture – Annaliza Davis looks at why it could be the perfect spot for your future home…

Situated south of Paris, the Loire Valley encompasses about 800km of vineyards, slow-flowing rivers, luscious landscapes and stately homes that vary from family manors to vast châteaux – such as Chambord, which welcomes over 700,000 visitors a year. In 2000, Unesco classed the central Loire Valley as a World Heritage Site, signalling its cultural importance. In terms of the French departments, what we call the Loire Valley generally includes Maine-et-Loire, Loiret, Indre- et-Loire and Loir-et-Cher, and the key cities of Angers (which has 155,876 residents), Tours (137,850) and Orléans (117,026), As for the landscapes, this is a fertile river valley, so you’ll drive through a lot of greenery, vineyards and fields of crops but the region is particularly famous for its châteaux. There are said to be between 1,000 and 3,000 depending on your definition of a château and the area concerned. As you can imagine, these combined factors make the Loire Valley an ever- popular choice for tourists – the Château de Chambourg alone welcomed well over a million visitors in 2023 – and, naturally, for househunters. Angers is a little over three hours from Paris; Tours and Bourges are both under three hours; and Chartres to the north is only an hour and a half from the capital. Given the easy access to this verdant haven filled with magnificent architecture, broad rivers and historic towns, its popularity is absolutely inevitable. The good news, though, is that it is far more affordable than you might imagine, and property prices are well below the national average.

As of March 2024, France’s average property price stood at €3,101/m³, yet in the Loire Valley properties are significantly lower, costing an average of €1,948/m². If you look carefully, you’ll find that some areas are as low as €850/ m³, which is about 26% of the averages across the country. In real terms, this means that a 50m² apartment in France would typically cost you €155,000, while in the Loire Valley it can cost as little as €42,000. As you’d expect, property prices depend on the location, and on how exactly you intend to use your investment.

In relative terms, central Angers and Tours are the most expensive locations, as the square metre price can rise to €3,450, which is unsurprising as these two cities are home to major industries, factories and several company headquarters. In a great location in Angers, you’ll pay over €75,000 for a 20m³ studio flat, which is about the size of a single garage, while you could get a similar property in Tours for just €50,000. In both cases, you could be renting it out for €400 a month. Angers is home to about 25,000 students and Tours has over 30,000, so there is a strong rental market in both cities and both have a lively cultural life that also appeals to tourists. Those visiting the famous Loire châteaux are likely to stay in Blois or Amboise, both east of Tours and popular with tourists. In Blois centre, it’s possible to buy a studio flat for under €60,000 to use as a holiday rental, and it’s a similar story in Amboise. A modest family house in need of renovation will cost from about €70,000, but in both towns you’ll have a good choice of houses you could move into if your budget is over €135,000. Property prices are similar in the famous cathedral city of Chartres, although here you can find a detached 80m² home for €120,000, ready to enjoy and complete with a large garden; or even a six- bedroom detached home for under €200,000. It’s all about location and timing. With no beaches to draw buyers, riverside properties are the alternative. East of Bourges and Orléans, you could choose a charming little cottage in the riverside town of Châtillon- sur-Loire for €75,000; or in La Guerche (south of Tours), you could fall for a stone cottage with a patio that literally has the river running alongside – yours for €99,950. In more rural areas, you’ll find a wealth of village houses, townhouses and detached properties with wonderful views, all well below the national square metre average.

Those in need of renovation start at €50,000, but if your budget is €70,000 you can find a rural retreat in the Loire Valley with its own little garden, just waiting for you to enjoy. As for renovation projects, you’ll be spoilt for choice. There are rural longères surrounded by farmland, tiny detached stone properties, townhouses, and even sprawling farm properties with outbuildings. The initial purchase can be as little as €55,000, but you’ll need to be realistic about building and renovation costs to ensure that you get a fair return on your investment. As for building plots, there are fewer here than in many parts of France, so you’ll need to act quickly. For €35,000, you could get a 1,000m² plot in Crucheray or 300m² in Montguillon, so there is also a lot of regional variation.

Of the four departments in the central Loire Valley, Loir-et-Cher has the sparsest population, with an average of 52 people per square kilometre, compared to the other areas that have around 100, and the national average of 120/km². This gives you plenty of space but fewer job opportunities. Chartres, Orléans and Tours are the hotspots: a third of Loire Valley residents are based in these three cities. In employment terms, the Loire Valley is fairly representative of France as a whole, with the exception of a higher percentage of agricultural work (7% compared to 4.8% nationally), and the average annual income is also perfectly reasonable: €22,810 compared to €23,080 nationally. The number of new start- ups is on the rise. Indeed, it has doubled in Loiret and Maine-et-Loire over the past 10 years, and there are various infrastructures to support owners of small businesses. Most of these are service- based – particularly focusing on tourism, as this continues to play a major part in the region’s economy.

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