Yssingeaux Property Insight

Yssingeaux is a French town located in the Haute Loire department and in the Auvergne region. With more than 7,000 inhabitants called the Yssingelais, the town is one of the sub prefectures of the town, the other one being Brioude, and the prefecture being Le Puy-en-Velay. Yssingeaux has on offer many activities, mostly outdoor ones. Indeed, the town is at the heart of an amazing natural environment, between volcanoes, hills, rivers and valleys.

Overview

The origin of the name is not clear cut, however, one stands out and would explain the arms of the town. Yssingeaux would come from the Occitan 'lou cin djaî' (the 5 roosters). The legend says that 5 roosters sang in 5 different points which would have determined the town borders. In any case it is clear that the town was created more than 1,000 years ago. Nowadays Yssingeaux stands out for its amazing natural environment and its vernacular surrounded villages.

Yssingeaux is situated at the edge of the Auvergne region, very close to the Rhone Alpes region. It is only 1hour from Lyon, and 25minutes from Saint Etienne. This location has influenced Yssingeaux’s identity, which is to a certain extent, closer from Rhone Alpes than from Auvergne.

Yssingeaux Immobilier & Property Market Trends

Since the national average for house prices is around €3,200 /sq m in France in 2009, Yssingeaux, with €1,465 /sq m can be said to be a very affordable area, not to say a very cheap town. Prices are even lower than the department average (€1,557 /sq m). If you wish to invest in this charming rural and peaceful area, it is the moment or never! Indeed, prices in the area are still decreasing (they decreased by 1% in April 2009), however, effects of the real estate crisis are slighter and slighter, and it will not take long before the region recovers from the crisis.

To get updated info about the property prices in Haute Loire, please browse our French Property Market Reports published in the News Section every month.

4 Reasons to Buy a Property in Yssingeaux

• Culture, art and historical heritage: despite the fact that Yssingeaux is a rather small town, it gathers many interesting and worth-seeing monuments. The Town council dates back to the 15th century and was partly destroyed in 1888 by a fire. The following year it was rebuilt. Other monuments are all religious ones and they include the Roman style Pénitents chapel from the 17th century and the Saint Pierre church from the 19th century and which inside is absolutely worth seeing!

• Tranquillity and scenery: Yssingeaux gathers 8,000hectares of natural open spaces. It is located at the foot of a volcano chain, at the top of which you can enjoy a breathtaking view over the Velay Valley and the Haute Loire department. Around the town there are also many rivers and forests which make the landscape even more beautiful and full of life!

• Events: the town is surprisingly young, and as a consequence has on offer many cultural activities. Some agricultural fairs are organized, such as: the aviculture exhibition, the horse fair, the Foie gras fair; but also some cultural events, such as: spring carnival, antiquity fair, bridge tournament, etc. Do not miss neither the traditional weekly street market every Thursdays; probably the best opportunity to meet locals!

• Local architecture and habits: the Maison d’Assemblée is very typical from the area. In each village there used to have a béate, who was a young girl that had some knowledge in reading, writing, mathematics, etc., and whose job was to look after the kids of the village, teaching them standard culture and doing their education. Nowadays, these Maisons d’assemblée, which were built by villagers themselves, are still used by the community as a place to gather and have a chat or a card game. The vernacular architecture in Haute Loire is very rich and gathers many different monuments, such as: bread ovens, wash houses, fountains, drinking troughs, etc. The main feature of the local architecture is the roof; it is made with flat stones, called flagstones, and are gently sloping.

Property Styles and Architecture in Yssingeaux

Famhouses: the vernacular architecture around Yssingeaux has been well preserved. You will see many farmhouses around the town, some of them beautifully renovated, others will need to be renovated. There are mainly two kinds of farmhouses, the roof making the difference between them. The first one has a shale flagstone gently sloping roof, while the other one has a concave tiles roof very flat. The farmhouse also comes with at least two outbuildings, usually attached to the dwelling part

Click here for more info about the Architecture in Auvergne.