Charente: French Property Location Guide

Between La Rochelle and Bordeaux, the inland area of Charente offers huge potential for househunters, as Annaliza Davis discovers…

Sitting just inland but in easy reach of the coast, the Charente department is known for its historical architecture, sunflower fields, vineyards that stretch to the horizon and Cognac – both the drink and the town. Its beautiful landscapes include mesmerising lakes such as Guizengeard and Touvérac and broad rivers. Charente has a slightly higher rainfall than most of the more southerly departments, but this is what makes the landscape so green and fertile, and it has more than 2,000 sunshine hours a year with just above-average temperatures.

A big point in its favour is that you’ll be spoiled for space: on average, Charente has fewer than 59 residents per square kilometre (compared to the French average of 106), placing it on a par with West Devon or Northumberland in the UK. Inline with most departments, agriculture is less dominant than 50 years ago, but still plays a vital part, as proven by its endless vineyards.

Tourism is a key factor in the economy, which is no surprise as it’s a beautiful area with a rich cultural heritage, and is easily accessible from the major cities. It’s around five hours from the ferry ports by road, and you can be here in under two hours from Paris if you take the train. In other words, Charente is ideal if you’re planning to live here all year round, but it’s also a fantastic location if you’re looking to buy a holiday property that you hope to visit regularly.

According to the Notaires de France, the average property price across France currently stands at €3,069/m², but in Charente you will be pleasantly surprised. SeLoger, a company that tracks the prices of homes across France, notes that at the end of 2024, properties in Charente cost an average of €1,449/m², so your budget will go a lot further here than in most other areas.

The two main urban centres, Angoulême and Cognac, fetch the highest prices, and you can spend up to €2,164/m² in the most desirable spots, but if you venture to the more rural, inland areas – particularly to the northeast of Charente – you can buy a home for as little as €691/m². If you consider that gov.uk gives the average size of a property in England as 94m², it would be possible to buy such a home in Charente for as little as €65,000.

Charente is certainly a place where people choose to settle, and they prefer houses to apartments: the French statistics institute, INSEE, notes that 67% of properties here are main residences and nearly 83% of those are houses. If you’re looking for apartments, you’ll find several in the village of Brettes, which is to the northwest of Charente between Confolens and St-Jean-d’Angély. This could be a good spot from which to commute to the neighbouring department of Deux-Sèvres or Angoulême, 45 minutes south.

As the area’s main urban centre and préfecture, Angoulême is where you’ll find around 40% of apartments for sale in Charente. A budget of €60,000 puts you in the market for a 24m² studio in the old quarters or up to 90m² on the outskirts. For €100,000, you could buy a furnished studio in the heart of the town, or even a townhouse to renovate. This historic riverside commune has 41,000 residents (equivalent to Dover or Abingdon) and 2,100 students, but is famous in France as the home of the comic-strip museum and hosts an annual graphic-novel festival. Around an hour and 30 minutes from La Rochelle, Bordeaux and Poitiers, Angoulême is well situated for commuting.

The second-largest town in Charente is Cognac, 40 minutes west of Angoulême and with 18,500 residents. It has a sense of history, with lots of historic and charming architecture, and the River Charente flowing through its centre. A €60,000 budget here will buy a studio or a renovation project, while €95,000 gives buyers more options from apartments to townhouses, and you could expect to rent out for around €400 per month.

Next up is Jarnac, 30 minutes west of Angoulême, birthplace of François Mitterrand and home to the Courvoisier brand of cognac. Again, the river is at the heart of the town, whose streets are lined with elegant homes that once belonged to traders and merchants. With fewer than 5,000 residents, Jarnac is more of a market town, but for €160,000 you can buy a family house with a garden, or a more central townhouse with a courtyard.

In the peaceful and rural north of the department, the charming riverside towns of Confolens (on the Charente) and Ruffec (on the Lien) offer more affordable property. Confolens (fewer than 3,000 residents) is a sous-préfecture (along with Cognac). It has an ancient bridge and buildings, and you can find a renovated three-bedroom, two-bathroom house for €110,000. In Ruffec (with a population of 3,300) you could pick up a four-bedroom home requiring total renovation for just €29,000.

If you’d like more space, head to the rural northeast. In Oradour-Fanais, a detached house in need of updating can be bought for €115,000, complete with almost three hectares; while a renovated 149m² three-bedroom home with two hectares costs just €195,000. It’s a similar story in Barbezieux-St-Hilaire, half an hour south of Angoulême, where €100,000 can buy a detached home ready to live in, often with period features.

As for building plots, €20,000 will buy a generous plot with utilities nearby -in various locations across Charente – while €50,000 gets you a 400m² plot in Cognac, one surrounded by woodland in Fléac, or 2,000m² in Pranzac.

Accessibility is one of the main selling points for Charente. The closest airport is La Rochelle, an hour and 50 minutes from Angoulême, and it offers several connections to British and European cities. Bordeaux, Poitiers and Limoges airports are also convenient.

The train service is excellent from Angoulême, with connections to Paris in under two hours. If you’re driving, Paris is less than five hours, as are the ferry ports of St-Malo and Caen, with Cherbourg an extra half hour.

According to France’s statistics institute, INSEE, over 40% of Charente’s population are aged 30 to 59, more than 31% are 29 or younger, and the remainder are aged 60 and over, with 34% of the population classed as ‘retired’. In addition, 47% of the population is based in just 10 urban centres within the department, leaving the majority of Charente with a distinctly rural feel.

This partly explains the slower pace of life here, and although the average disposable income is lower than in neighbouring regions, 78% of Charente’s residents would recommend their town as a good place to live.

The area’s agricultural output is largely supported by its vineyards, but it also has a strong industrial economy – manufacturing paper, tiles and electrical equipment -which accounts for 20% of employment here. However, the majority of jobs are in the service industry, as is the case elsewhere in France. Unsurprisingly, given its natural beauty and accessibility, tourism plays a key role in the local economy, accounting for nearly 5% of all employment in Charente.

WHAT THE AGENTS SAY…

Estate agent Christophe Guay lives and works in the Charente, and shares his insights into what makes this a prime location for house-hunters.”Our independent estate agency is based in Ruffec, and this area is already well known by the British for its pleasant climate, value-for-money properties and easy access. If you’re looking for great value for money, it’s hard to beat the town of Ruffec itself, and I’d also recommend the villages of Verteuil-sur-Charente and Nanteuil-en-Vallée, both of which offer all the shops and services you’ll need.

“The market has evolved over recent years, with a post-Covid price boom in 2020-2023, but the prices have reset somewhat lately. Another change we’ve noticed over recent years is that buyers are less keen to take on renovation projects, they’re mostly looking for finished properties ready to move into.” tic-ruffec.com

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