If you dream of getting away from it all, then leave the crowds at the coast
and head inland for the peace and quiet of the countryside. What could be
better than sitting on your own Tuscan terrace, enjoying a glass of
brunello, as you watch the sun go down, or listening to cicadas in orange
groves deep in the Spanish hills? Unlike in Britain, in much of mainland
Europe, you don’t have to be too remote to find tranquillity; drive an hour
from the airport and you can bag yourself a farmhouse, finca or villa with
spectacular views.
ITALY
Tuscany has been the destination for the well-heeled second-homer for almost
two centuries, since Byron hid from the authorities and penned part of his
Don Juan here. Today, so many Britons own a hideaway in the Tuscan hills
that the area has been nicknamed “Chiantishire” – with an obvious effect on
prices. “It’s hard to find anything decent in the countryside for less than
€1m [£681,000],” says Rupert Fawcett, head of the Italian desk at Knight
Frank (020 7629 8171, www.knightfrank.co.uk/international).
“People are still flocking to the region, but they are beginning to look
further afield. Arezzo and Cortona, on the border between Tuscany and
Umbria, are popular. Umbria is on the up, especially since Ryanair started
flights to Perugia this year.”
Those hoping to restore a farmhouse will struggle to find a project with
potential for profit in Tuscany. But it is possible to pick up derelict
properties for less than £100,000 in the rugged hills of Le Marche, to the
east. Magic Marche (020 8941 8300, www.magicmarche.com)
has a two-bedroom farmhouse with six acres near Sarnano, in need of work,
for £34,000; or a restored three-bed farmhouse in the same area for £340,000.
If you revel in the idea of rural bliss, but not in the prospect of
long-distance estate management, consider buying in one of a growing number
of gated communities that are springing up as entire hilltop towns are
converted. A two-bed flat in the hamlet of Montefienali, near Gaiole, with
use of two communal pools, is for sale for £185,000 with Umbrian Property
(00 39 349 478 6701, www.umbrianproperty.com).
FRANCE
Peter Mayle, the ad exec turned author, started it all in the late 1980s, when
he headed for the Provençal countryside, then sold the British the dream of
rustic life: lovely stone houses, baguettes, runny cheese and sunshine. It
proved so popular that an estimated 600,000 Britons now own a holiday home
in the south of France. Unsurprisingly, this has pushed up prices; a six-bed
farmhouse near Aix-en-Provence is for sale with Aylesford (020 7351 2383, www.aylesford.com)
for £1.7m. Five years ago, it would have cost £1m.
“Most British buyers want the peace and tranquillity they find it difficult to
get in the UK,” says Trisha Mason, managing director of VEF (020 7515 8660, www.vefuk.com).
In the past five years, Mason has seen buyers head to the Languedoc, where
prices are lower than neighbouring Provence and not much more expensive than
in the rural heartland of the Limousin. Other options for Gallic arcadia
include the Auvergne and Gascony.
SPAIN
Sun, sangria and somewhere out in the sticks: rocketing property prices on the
costas over the past decade, and the sheer volume of the crowds, have sent
many buyers into rural Andalusia. “Prices have forced those on limited
budgets to look elsewhere,” says Barbara Wood, co-founder of The Property
Finders (020 7518 0335, www.thepropertyfinders.com),
80% of whose clients buy rural properties, most within a 45-minute drive of
Malaga.
“Rural prices have also started to rise, though,” she adds, “and it is no
longer the cheap option. The most important factor that has driven forward
this trend is improved accessibility to inland Andalusia. It is possible to
track price rises along the route of a new road.” The pretty white villages
that dot the hillsides around Gaucin are the most appealing, or head into
the orange groves of the Ronda valley. Andalucian Country Living (00 34 628
040 044, www.andaluciancountryliving.com)
has a three-bed villa with an infinity pool for £860,000, near Gaucin. A
similar property on the slopes of Sierra del Carche, 40 minutes from
Alicante, is for sale for £51,000 with Country Property Spain (00 34 680 626
213, www.spanish-country-houses-properties.com).
More intrepid Sancho Panzas could head to La Mancha, the central plateau south
of Madrid, where you can pick up an old stone house to renovate for less
than £25,000. Or try Casa Ossa, a grand 247-acre estate with a nine-bedroom
house more suited to Don Quixote. It is on the market for £651,000, through
Jackson-Stops & Staff (020 7828 7387, www.jackson-stops.co.uk).
GERMANY
It isn’t high on most house-hunters’ list of destinations, but Bavaria is
beginning to attract British buyers seduced by rolling Alpine countryside,
clear lakes – and the quality of the property on offer. Realestate-Dreams
(00 49 8962 421088, www.realestate-dreams.com)
has just launched in Bavaria in response to great demand from foreign
investors. Small village houses or apartments start at £150,000; a classic
Bavarian-style three-bed country house in Bad Wiessee is £451,000.
ARGENTINA
You could opt for a long-haul finca and tango off to the vineyards of
Argentina. At the foot of the Andes, in the west of the country, the Mendoza
region is attracting Britons who want to really get away from it all. Hot
spots here include San Rafael. Mendoza Property (00 54 2627 426471, www.mendozaproperty.com)
is selling a run-down four-bedroom finca near the village of La Llave, an
hour’s flight from Buenos Aires, for £25,000. It comes with a large barn and
20 acres that lead down to the Rio Diamante, so pack your black suit, your
cane and your cigar. Olé.
