The Audois Property Market
Ten years ago a property market existed in the Aude. Rural depopulation, poverty and isolation had taken its toll. If you put a house on the market an agent could tell you, within 10%, what you would get for it-and be right. That situation no longer exists.
In the last five years things have changed radically. The advent of low cost air travel, in our case Ryanair , and the increasing number of northern Europeans with high incomes and dreams of the south has fundamentally changed the entire area. US and Canadian investment has also played a role. Prices can now reflect the spending power of the purchaser and their perceive relative value compared to prices in the North. 450,000 Euro for a 5 bedroom country house with 20 hectares of land is a bargain for someone use to London, Amsterdam or Munich prices, 8 years ago you could have bought a small village for such a sum.
The property market can basically be split into three sectors. Beach, Village/Town, and stand alone country property

Beach- dreams of an isolated house on a rocky cliff can be forgotten instantly. Our wonderful sandy coast is highly developed, but not over developed. It stretches from the mouth of the Aude, down La Clape and the Corbieres Maritime to Fitou. Apartment from studios to penthouses are available in new build, 30,000 Euro will get you a basic studio within 10 minutes from the sea by foot. Got more money than that- well there will be a developer and and a development that can give you your money's worth somewhere along the coast.

Town-this is where it starts getting complicated. Town houses range from huge maison de maitre, grand 19th century bourgeois houses, with courtyard and small garden to small two up two down old stone village houses that front straight onto the street. Factors determining prices are the popularity of the town, Lagrasse and Limoux head the list price wise, whether there is a garden or terrace, and the possibility of getting planning permission- see compromis de vente . Another option for those seeking a modern ready to go holiday home or residence is to look at the new developments springing up around most towns and many villages. A lotissement is an area of land that has been cleared for building, the owner of the plot builds in the road and services. You purchase a plot and then have a find a developer to build a villa to your choice. You should check with the Mairie on possible future expansion to the plot, what may now have a view of vineyards and hills may tomorrow have a view of a building site. On the services, the plot owner is only responsible for placing the services along the road, it is your responsibility to get the water, electricity and sewage connected up to the house. 60,000 Euro will get you a 3 bedroom village house in good repair and possibly a small terrace but at that price the terrace is not given. A new build can range from 100,000 including the land in an average village/town.

Stand Alone Properties-The Aude has quite strict rules on rural development. This means that outside of the vignerons, who seem to be able to do pretty much what they like, planning permission for new build in stand alone locations will be refused in most cases. However there are a number of pr-existing properties to be bought, mainly old converted barns, châteaux and shepherd dwellings, as well as mills, forges and tile makers. None agricultural land is cheap and many come with large areas of garrigue included. Things to check included the water supply, often a well or source- the agent should have a figure of the square metreage per hour a source provides. New wells can be drilled but the process is not cheap. The cesspit, new legislation has increased the distance from a house the pit must be, does the system comply with these rules. If not grants are available to help with the work but this can be used as apoint of negotiation. Electricity, EDF and the local commune do not have the responsibility of connecting you should they decide not to. This means you have two options, either pay EDF to run power to your house, expensive, or install your own power system-solar, wind, or generator. Telephones, unlike EDF France Telecom will install a phone line, under their universal service agreement they must by law. The last consideration is security. Crime levels in the Aude are very low, in rural areas virtually zero-apart from drink driving and domestic violence. However an empty property, isolated with expensive solar panels on the roof is a very tempting target .

The scarcity of properties and their attractiveness to the foreign and Parisian markets has lead to a huge increase in prices in this sector. The ceiling appears to be whatever the buyers can afford- though properties over the million Euro mark don't seem to shift much. A stand alone place with 5-10 hectares of land, in good condition with a pool can easily fetch between 450 and 600,000 Euro. Property in the more isolated parts of the Corbieres, Montagne Noir and high Aude can be bought for cheaper than this.