Limousin Property Location Guide

The Limousin region is known for its rural beauty, mountains, hills and valleys – it also boasts some of France’s most affordable properties, as Annaliza Davis explains…

This inland region sits just south of central France, based around the city of Limoges, with Poitiers to the north and Lyon to the east. It comprises the departments of Corrèze (19), Creuse (23) and Haute-Vienne (87), the mountains of the Massif Central and a regional nature park that covers 3,140 square kilometres, and is now part of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine administrative region.

Limousin is one of the least populated parts of France: the 2023 national average is 120 people per square kilometre, while there are 67 in Haute- Vienne, 41 in Corrèze and 21 in Creuse. Compare this to England, with an average population density of 434/ km² and you get an idea of how spacious it feels to be here.
To say that Limousin is rural is an understatement. This is evident as you drive past endless pastures of grazing cattle and sheep, deciduous woodlands and fields, springs and river valleys, and the country’s central mountain range. Certain areas experience very cold winters, others – such as the area surrounding Brive- la-Gaillarde – can be very hot in summer. Whatever you prefer, you will almost certainly find a property in your budget here.

MATCH THE PLACE TO YOUR POCKET

By the end of 2023, France’s average property price had risen to €3,132/m², but in Limousin properties were averaging €1,240/m², which is well under half that. The more costly zones are in the historic city of Brive-la Gaillarde in Corrèze (€1,809/m²); the Limousin capital Limoges in Haute-Vienne (€1,708/m²); and Guéret in Creuse (€1,061/ m²). Your budget will buy you more property and land in the more rural areas, particularly in Creuse, where you can find houses for as little as €512/m².

Apartments have a slightly higher average price than houses (€1,496/m², compared to €1,276/m²), but both are still easily under half the average price of properties across France. Broadly speaking, Haute-Vienne is the most expensive of the three departments (€711-€1,993/m²), followed by Corrèze (€742- €1,931/m² and finally Creuse (€512-€1,161/m²).

WHERE TO FIND WHAT YOU WANT

If you’re looking to buy a city-centre property, focus on Limoges, which has 135,000 residents and 16,000 students at the university, ensuring the city has a strong rental market as well as a young, lively feel. The city dates back to medieval times but in the 1800s became famous for its porcelain, an industry that helped Limoges to flourish.

Back in the 1960s, the three departments of Haute- Vienne, Corrèze and Creuse joined to form Limousin, but in 2016, this region was merged with two others to form Nouvelle-Aquitaine, with Bordeaux as the capital. Nevertheless, Limoges remains a significant city, and accounts for approximately half the employment within Limousin. A €30,000 budget will get you a basic studio flat in the centre, while houses start at €125,000. One hour further south, you’ll find Brive-la-Gaillarde, a fortified medieval town of 50,000 residents. Tourists love the foodie culture here, along with the history, the honey- coloured stone and picturesque streets. Both houses and studio apartments in Brive start at €60,000, but €100,000 will buy you a detached family home with a garden. It’s worth noting that both Brive and Limoges regularly feature in France’s 100 best places to live, and they are the only towns in Limousin with over 20,000 inhabitants.
Limousin has a wealth of pretty riverside towns – such as Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne, Argentat-sur-Dordogne, Ségur- le-Château, Aubusson, Tulle and Uzerche – and seven official Plus Beaux Villages including Collonges-les-Rouges, Turenne, Curemonte, St-Robert and Mortemart. Properties in the more sought-after villages tend to be pricier (for example, an average of €1,418/m² in Beaulieu), but are surprisingly reasonable in some of the larger towns (Aubusson €849/m²).

As you might have guessed, rural retreats here are a speciality, and you can choose from the high-elevation areas of Massif Central or the pastoral expanses of the Creuse valley. Worth a mention is Bellac, near the border with Poitou- Charentes. This pretty market town of 3,500 residents features an ancient stone bridge over the River Vincou, and offers family homes from €60,000.

There’s no coast in the Limousin, but there are 10 lakes including the 10km² Lac de Vassivière on the Plateau de Millevaches. These lakes are open all year, offering watersports and lakeside ‘beaches’ for relaxation. There are also thousands of kilometres of rivers with over 2,240km of riverbank fishing for trout and salmon (fishing permits are available from local tourist offices), so you can enjoy waterside living in the Limousin. Try Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne, as the Limousin Riviera, known where €150,000 will buy you a detached, four-bedroom family home, while a renovation project starts at €30,000.

Speaking of renovation, the Limousin will leave you spoiled for choice – especially if you have a budget of €30,000 or more. As mentioned earlier, the rural areas offer the best value – you can even buy a small, detached stone property or vacant townhouse requiring work for €15,000.

Finally, if you are looking for a building plot, €30,000 will give you a choice of 1,500m² plots that are listed as viabilisé: services and ready to connect to utilities. Beware of ‘leisure’ land, as you won’t be able to create a year-round, permanent dwelling on these plots.

ECONOMY AND EMPLOYMENT

This rural part of France has a reputation of being a hard place in which to get work, but the figures paint a different picture. According to France’s statistics agency, INSEE, employment rates of those aged 15 to 64 are just under the national average (74%) and unemployment is at 11.2%, below France’s average (12.7%).
You might think that given the low cost of property here, salaries would be pitiful. The latest INSEE figures give average annual earnings as €21,610 in Haute-Vienne, €21,590 in Corrèze and €20,130 in Creuse; across France, the average is €22,400, so there is not a huge gap in earning potential here, meaning that your annual salary goes much further in the property market. Indeed, 68% of Limousin’s residents own their property, which is 10% above the national average.

As for types of employment, only the department of Creuse is hugely agricultural (14%, versus the national average of 4.8%). Proportionately, employment is higher here for industry, and for public education, health and social work, particularly in Creuse, where the latter is at 22% compared to 12.6% across the country. One final point for entrepreneurs: there is an upward trend in new businesses being established, and around a third of those are created by people who have moved here from other areas.

TRANSPORT

With its central location, the original Limousin capital, Limoges, has always had enviable transport links: in addition to its international airport, the train service can take you to Paris or Toulouse in around three hours.
For road access, Brive is also in an excellent location at the crossroads of the north-south A20 autoroute and the east-west A89 – and it has an airport too. Wherever you choose to settle in the Limousin, you can still be accessible by air, rail and road.

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