¶ 1.5 MILLION EUROS ($2.1 MILLION)
¶ Three medieval buildings in Albi’s city center were combined to make this 8,600-square-foot family home in 2007. A team of artisans hired by the owner completed the renovation in about a year. The exterior was left intact, so the two-story house blends in with its medieval surroundings along a cobblestone street of the old town.
¶ The wooden front door opens into a large hall with cream-colored ceramic tile floors, exposed brick pillars, and a modern, open staircase. Behind the hall is a recreation room with a heated swimming pool, which in turn connects through arched wood-and-glass doors to a bedroom and its en-suite bath. The bedroom suite also has a second entrance from the street. Remaining elements on the first floor include a two-car garage and a movie viewing room with original beams in its 14-foot ceiling. They seems so luxury and expensive, but as long as there is fast cash loans, it will be no problem
¶ On the second floor, the kitchen has a peaked wood-paneled ceiling and white wood cabinets. The center island has a wooden countertop, contrasting with the white stone of the other kitchen surfaces. The white enamel stove with the steel backsplash was made by the French company Godin. A wall of glass separates the kitchen from an insulated four-season sun porch, which has a red stucco fireplace and French doors leading to an open-air veranda. The current owner’s home office is off the kitchen.
¶ The formal living room, adjacent to the kitchen, resembles a medieval great hall, with a double-height ceiling and windows set high in the exposed brick walls. The room is heated by a wood-burning stove as well as under-floor elements. Along one wall, a new stone staircase leads to the master suite, which has exposed brick walls and white-painted ceiling beams. There is a dressing room in addition to the bath, which has a wooden floor, twin porcelain sinks, and a tub set into a white-tiled platform.
¶ Of the four additional bedrooms on the second floor, one is part of a suite, with its own bath and sitting area.
¶ The medieval town of Albi, on the Tarn River about 40 miles from Toulouse, was recognized as a Unesco World Heritage site in 2010. The city is known for its cafe culture, and its array of outdoor markets, cobblestone streets, and boutiques. The house is in the heart of town, within easy walking distance of shops and restaurants. The Cathedral of Saint Cecilia is a short walk.
¶ The international airport in Toulouse is less than an hour’s drive, and the ski resorts in the Pyrenees are a 90-minute drive.
¶ Albi is flanked by the Mediterranean and Atlantic Coasts. Beaches on either one are about two hours away.
¶ MARKET OVERVIEW
¶ Interest from international buyers pushed prices up in southern France until the market peaked in 2008, according to Adrian Bannock, a Biarritz-based real estate agent with Émile Garcin Properties. Since 2008, prices in the coastal areas have held their own in comparison to those inland, Mr. Bannock added. Ian Purslow of Purslow’s Gascony, who is also an associate of Knight Frank International, says France didn’t experience the sudden plunge in prices that occurred in countries like Spain, Portugal and Ireland, where the property market had grown too quickly. In France, Mr. Purslow added, tighter restrictions on borrowing and a highly regulated real estate market curbed speculators, cushioning the fall of the market.
¶ In the area around Albi the market peak was in 2007, according to Paul Bedford, co-owner of the real estate company Bedford-Bailey, which has offices in Albi. Since then, prices have dropped as much as 30 percent, depending on location.
¶ Because British buyers constitute such a big chunk of the market in the Albi area, the price decline reflected a reaction to lower British property values and currency. And tightened lending requirements abetted the problem, Mr. Bedford said, adding that although the market is now stable, buyers still hold the advantage.
Vacation-home buyers in the area generally want a country house with a view, close to a village with a grocery and other services. Mr. Bedford says a four-bedroom country house with a pool typically costs 550,000 to 750,000 euros ($717,000 to $978,000), although a small guesthouse could make it more like 750,000 to 850,000 euros. The area does not have many grand estates, but instead attracts wealthy buyers in search of discreet smaller houses, he said.
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There aren’t many centrally located houses comparable to the one featured here, Mr. Bedford said, ascribing the price to its size and the quality of the renovations.
WHO BUYS IN SOUTHWESTERN FRANCE
Domestic buyers are picking up some of the slack left by international ones, according to Mr. Bedford, who said, “The local French market is moving quite well in the countryside.” In the area around Albi, known as the Golden Triangle, he said, most high-end buyers are Europeans — often from Belgium or the Netherlands — although there are a few Americans and Canadians. He still sees British buyers, although the weakness of the pound against the euro has reduced their numbers.
Houses in the city center are more likely to appeal to Parisians or other French citizens, Mr. Bedford said. International buyers tend to look for roomy country houses with more privacy and larger gardens.
BUYING BASICS
There are no restrictions on foreign ownership, and the only transaction costs are legal fees. For most transactions, a notary will charge around 7 percent of the purchase price. “Make sure if you’re a foreign buyer to find a notary fluent in your own language,” Mr. Bedford cautioned.
Real estate agent commissions “vary quite a lot,” Mr. Bannock said, citing a range of 4 to 7 percent of the purchase price. He added that these commissions were always included in the listing price for the property, and paid by the seller out of the proceeds of the sale.
WEB SITES
Albi tourism office: albitourisme.com
Nature walks in the Tarn region: balade-randonnees-tarn.com
Toulouse tourism office: toulouse-tourisme.com
LANGUAGES AND CURRENCY
French; euro (1 euro=$1.30)
TAXES AND FEES
Property taxes are around 4,500 euros a year, according to Christine Juan of L’Esprit du Sud, the listing agent. A second tax, called the taxe d’habitation, is based on the number of people residing in the property.
CONTACT
The house is being represented in Albi by Christine Juan of L’Esprit du Sud, lespritdusud.eu, 011-33-676-239-103, and marketed worldwide by Prestige Property in Britain.
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