Real estate trends

Apartments go for around 1,300 € per m² in downtown Niort, and on average for just 1,000 € per m² in the rest of the department. Overall, for Deux-Sèvres, the Average price of houses is about 100,000 € according to La Vie immobilière. In Niort, it has stabilized at around 120,000 €. Manors and vast bourgeois houses in perfect condition start at 600,000 €. Calculate 300,000 € for an ancient, restored, habitable 200 m² house in the country

Traditional housing

Typical modest, single storey Poitou marsh houses have been built of the local building materials: limestone, wood (sometimes twisted by time when the lumber was poorly dried), clay tiles and… reeds, used as lathing in the framework, because of their exceptional insulating properties. The streets run parallel to the canals, with the dwellings opening towards land and the outbuildings towards the waterways.

Location

Located halfway between Nantes and Bordeaux, the city of Niort is accessible by TGV from Paris (2 h 15 min). It takes 50 minutes by TER to reach Parthenay. Air service is via La Rochelle or Poitiers (daily flights to London and Lyon).

Scenery and activities

From Niort to the Atlantic Ocean, some 95,000 hectares of Poitou marshes, entirely manmade back in the 17th Century from an inhospitable marshy area, run alongside the Sèvre Niortaise. Dubbed the Green Venice thanks to its maze of canals, the wet marsh is located mostly in Deux-Sèvres territory. You can hunt for natural treasures in a "plate" [flat-bottom], the traditional maraichin [marsh] boat.

But let us not forget that, along with its marshes, the department also has hedged farmland around Bressuire and the gently sloping hills of Gâtine, nicknamed "Little Switzerland." You will find every pretext to commune with nature here: hiking, horseback riding, bicycling, and boating, as well as fishing and nautical activities for both novice and seasoned sportsmen.

Weather

With a mild maritime climate, Deux-Sèvres enjoys mild winters and pleasant summers. There are over 1,800 hours sunny days per year. Some areas receive almost double the rainfall of other areas: 600 mm per year near Thouars, 800 mm in the Val de Sèvres… and 1,000 mm in Gâtine, commonly nicknamed the "château d'eau" [water tower] of Poitou-Charentes.

In town

• Niort: with almost 60,000 inhabitants (and 100,000 in its communauté de communes [metropolitan area]), the prefecture of Deux-Sèvres has a multitude of pluses. Its nearness to the Poitou marshes, its medieval cultural heritage (notably, a striking twin keep) makes it a tourist show case. As for work, mainly in the service sector, computer systems, mutual associations and logistics all flourish here… with one of the lowest unemployment rates in France.

The most recents ads - Deux Sèvres

GR5588 - Land 25 500,00 € 79290  BRION PRES THOUET Real estate BRION PRES THOUET Land	GR5587 - Land 27 500,00 € 79290  BRION PRES THOUET Real estate BRION PRES THOUET Land
GR5518 - House 126 300,00 € 79290  ARGENTON L EGLISE Real estate ARGENTON L EGLISE House	GR5506 - Country cottage 90 000,00 € 79290  ARGENTON L EGLISE Real estate ARGENTON L EGLISE Country cottage
GR5496 - Land 24 940,00 € 79290  ST MARTIN DE SANZAY Real estate ST MARTIN DE SANZAY Land	GR5494 - House 131 500,00 € 79290  BRION PRES THOUET Real estate BRION PRES THOUET House