Why is rural property in France so cheap?

Long answer, sorry. There are several reasons: The first and main one is: YOU ARE LOOKING AT WRECKS IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE. The second is supply and demand for land; France is the largest country in Europe with 551500 sq km, whereas Germany ... read more

Properties in rural areas of Scotland or Ireland where the local population is leaving and there’s little interest by outside buyers are pretty cheap too. Labour is not cheap in France, so renovating a rural property will be relatively expensive. read more

There is a listing procedure, but few properties are affected. Even some chateaux are not listed. You can forget, however, making a profit from doing up an old country cottage or barn. While the price of unmodernised property is cheap in rural France, so is the price of modernised property. read more

I think the attitude is a bit different in France. Resentment of tax dollars to big cities: in France, the transfer of wealth is transparently from urban areas to rural areas as farms benefit from generous tax subsidies. So wealth transfers are not a source of resentment. read more