Le Comminges, in the southern part of La Haute-Garonne

This historic county once stretched from Muret to Luchon, extending over four “départements”, La Haute-Garonne, L’Ariège, Le Gers and Les Hautes-Pyrénées. Today, Le Pays de Comminges corresponds to the “arrondissement” of Saint-Gaudens, composed of 236 communes. The main town, a 1-hour drive from Toulouse, is also the most built-up area in the region.

Crossed by the Garonne, Le Comminges offers very varied scenery, from the snow-capped peaks on the border with Spain to the alluvial plains where flows the Garonne. At the foot of the Pyrenees, midway between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, picture-postcard landscapes follow one after another, much appreciated by the British, Belgian and Dutch. The origins of the region's colourful heritage date back to ancient Rome. Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges is still one of France’s most beautiful villages. Fans of thermal spas set off for Luchon, while culture-vultures head for the Gallo-Roman town of Montmaurin, the museum of Saint-Béat or the Château de Valmirande.

“This luxuriant, undulating region south of Toulouse offers clear views of the chain of the Pyrenees,” says Nadia Koslowski of Sud Propriétés. It used to attract a good share of second home owners. Now the English are selling, sometimes willing to reduce their prices significantly in order to recover cash, while buyers are visibly hesitant in today’s tense global economic climate. In the good old days, they would spend 300,000 to 400,000 € on average on holiday homes, while the locals, now representing a large majority on the market, can only afford up to 150,000 €, the price of a small new villa with 3 bedrooms and a garden of 600 m2, or a “Commingeoise” - an old house of about 140 m2 on two floors, with a central corridor - to restore or refurbish, in grounds of 2,000-2,500 m2. People working in Toulouse, often first-time buyers, are still interested, though to a lesser extent, together with retirees and local workers employed in the service sector. The considerable distance separating Le Comminges from pools of employment naturally hinders the area’s development. In this rural setting, apartment buildings are very few and far between. Nature reigns supreme, though the motorway provides easy access to and from the Pink City.

“Villages are rated depending on their proximity to the Route Nationale and the motorway, the diversity of their scenery, the dynamism of their municipal authorities and the amenities available in situ,” says David Arrouy, owner of the Cabinet Occitan and commercial representative of the Eco-Log and Architecteurs brands, handling sales, rentals, construction of traditional houses and timberframe homes, either turnkey or in kit form, extensions and personalized renovation. Within a 15-minute radius around Saint-Gaudens, Villeneuve-de-Rivière, Landorthe, Estancarbon, Clarac and Bordes-de-Rivière top the popularity polls. The construction market is of particular interest thanks to building land which is relatively cheap compared to existing housing. A good-quality plot, from 800 to 2,500 m2, will range from 30,000 to 40,000 €, a sum to which one adds the cost of construction, ie. about 1,100 €/m2 for a traditional house, 1,200 €/m2 for wood. Curiously, active young couples prefer the first type of home, while seniors naturally turn to the second !