Montaigu de Quercy Property Insight

Montaigu-de-Quercy is a village of 1,400 inhabitants in the Tarn-et-Garonne department (Midi Pyrenees). On its hill, Montaigu-de-Quercy was formerly a medieval place of importance and dates from the 12th century. Remaining battlements can be seen round the village, but it is the lake and its leisure centre which make it famous.

Overview

Beautiful hills surround the village of Montaigu-de-Quercy. The lake itself is marvellous and merges perfectly with the hills to offer splendid scenery. Vineyards are also common on the side of the hills, as some tasty wine is produced in the area.

Quite small, it is a typical Quercy market town, extremely attractive with a few gorgeous half-timbered houses and narrow lanes. The typical weekly markets animate the squares and leave an attractive smell in the air. Tranquillity is the watchword, but anyway big cities are not too far, such as Toulouse being at only an hour or so away. Agen, Cahors et Montauban are big towns even closer, if for once you want to escape the calmness for a bit more agitation that you will be able to find in big towns.

Beside the lake, Montaigu-de-Quercy is a good place to practice many sports as golf, horse-riding, hiking, sailing, fishing, paragliding, parachuting, quad biking amongst many others. Everybody’s taste will be satisfied!

Montaigu de Quercy Immobilier & Property Market Trends

The Tarn-et-Garonne department had prices almost similar to those of the national average and had the same increase or decrease. Since the end of 2007, it has not been the case anymore and the prices stopped to rise in Tarn-et-Garonne while the national average continued to increase. The price to buy a property in the Tarn-et-Garonne is around €1,700/ sq m in 2009, but it could be cheaper in the smaller towns and villages as Montaigu-de-Quercy.

There, almost all properties are detached houses and 40% of them comprise at least 3 bedrooms. As well, it seems that many people fell in love with this village because not less than 20% are second homes. If you are also interested by a property in Montaigu-de-Quercy, know that 10% of the houses are vacant!

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

4 Reasons to Buy a Property in Montaigu-de-Quercy

Montaigu-de-Quercy is highly attractive for tourism. Its beautiful blue lake mixes perfectly with the nice weather of the south. It is also a living village in which life is enjoyable.

• Transport: the town lies in a peaceful area but also easily reaches Toulouse, which airport offers direct links to and from the United Kingdom with different companies such as Flybe, Bmi, British Airways, Jet2 and Easyjet. Toulouse has also a TGV rail station to rapidly reach the main cities in France and elsewhere.

• Market: the market of Montaigu-de-Quercy is renowned and still attracts many people every Saturday and this, all year round. During summer, another market takes place every Wednesday. There, you will buy local products like melon, local wine, sausage for the aperitif, foie gras, honey and cabécou (small goat cheese with hazelnuts taste). These markets are really a tradition and there you will hear the local dialect, but also French and English, all mixed together!

• Tranquillity and scenery the particularity of the area of Montaigu-de-Quercy is the alignment of limestone plateaus between wide valleys, orientated from north-east to south-west. Their altitude reaches 250m. At the north and north-west of the village, the hillsides of the Pays de Serres and of the Quercy Blanc are constituted of white limestone. The constitution of the soil and the rocks of the subsoil give a character of harmony and balance to the landscapes, which characterised the region of Montaigu-de-Quercy. There, you will feel appeased by the landscapes and soaked by the calm of the surroundings.

• Lake: one of the dominant asset of Montaigu-de-Quercy is undeniably its splendid lake. Very large, it attracts people from all around the area to practice their favourite sports (sailing, canoeing, fishing and doing pedalo) and enjoy the countryside. It has an awesome advantage which is the beautiful sandy beach where you can lie hours long and relax.

Property Styles and Architecture in Montaigu-de-Quercy

Montaigu-de-Quercy is very popular but only has a small amount of properties. Thus, the architecture you can find here is quite homogenous. The majority of properties are old farmhouses made of local stones, but you will also be able to find more recent properties which unfortunately do not have a common architecture.

Quercy stone farmhouses: in this « stone land », the exploitation buildings can be numerous and are sometimes organised around a closed courtyard. The most modest farmhouses are small buildings, attached or detached, having only one or two rooms. In the smartest houses, the main building is developed in heigth. The ground floor was often reserved for the exploitation (sheephold, attic, wine storehouse). The upper floor was reserved to living rooms and is reachable thanks to an outdoor stone staircase, stucked to the wall. These houses are obviously made in stones, often white (from the Quercy Blanc).

Click here for more info about Midi Pyrenees Architecture.