| The French real estate market is extremely popular | | | | foundations. |
| with foreign buyers, many of which are attracted to | | | | - Less obviously, certain building materials (e.g. granite |
| France (either as a permanent home or a second | | | | stone) are used mainly in certain regions. Historically, |
| home) by the various attractions that France offers. | | | | transporting materials long distances was too |
| Top of the list with many buyers are the climate, food, | | | | expensive so each area adapted their house |
| wine and lifestyle. What many of these buyers may | | | | constructions to use local materials, be it a given type |
| not realise however is the diversity of real estate | | | | of stone, wood or other material. Although |
| which is also available in France. In addition to the | | | | transportation is now less of an issue, most people |
| standard types of homes which one finds in all modern | | | | consider it in bad taste to build in a style which is |
| countries, there are many unusual and character | | | | obviously not in keeping with the local region and in |
| houses for sale in France. | | | | some cases local building regulations will prevent it. |
| These character properties include stone-built homes, | | | | - Similarly, many building styles (e.g. Chartreuse) are |
| farmhouses, chateau, stately homes, villas, chalets and | | | | specific to given regions. Even decorative features |
| so on. In addition to the house itself, one can find a | | | | such as wooden balconies or lilies growing in the apex |
| large selection of properties for sale which offer | | | | of thatched houses tend to be regional. |
| additional features such as a lake (which is often a | | | | Details on the various types of house styles, including |
| fishing lake), stream, sea frontage, outbuildings, large | | | | which are regional and which are not, are provided at |
| landscaped garden, very large plots of land (e.g. | | | | houses for sale in France. However, in this article we |
| sufficient to keep horses), extra facilities (e.g. horse | | | | merely note the regional element and note that as a |
| stables) and so on. Unlike some countries, finding such | | | | result, when one chooses a region, one thereby |
| character homes or extra features is often not difficult | | | | chooses the types of properties available. |
| as there is a large selection of properties for sale in | | | | Likewise, for certain property types, a decision to |
| France which offer them. | | | | purchase that type of property determines which |
| Although one can find character properties in every | | | | regions one can find a property in. Some people may |
| region of France, the types of properties which are | | | | think of this as a limitation. However, there are two |
| available vary from region to region. For example: | | | | advantages to this approach. The first advantage is |
| - Ski chalets will be found only in the mountains and | | | | that the use of a building style which is local to a region |
| villas are almost always found in the hot south of | | | | means that one has a building style which has adapted |
| France. This is largely due to the fact that the weather, | | | | to local requirements and has been proven over |
| which varies greatly from one region of France to | | | | hundreds of years. This avoids the disasters that one |
| another, affects the technical requirements of local | | | | finds in a number of other countries (e.g. the building of |
| buildings. For example, in mountain areas the roofs are | | | | mediterranean villa style houses in New Zealand, which |
| typically steep in order to shed the heavy snowfalls. In | | | | at one point was very popular but which have been |
| the cool north, windows tend to face south in order to | | | | proven to be unsuitable to the New Zealand climate). |
| capture the sun while in the hot south they tend to | | | | The second advantage is that it is part of the regional |
| face north to preserve the cool of the house during | | | | culture. One of the attractions of France is that each |
| the long hot summers. Nor is it just the weather which | | | | region has its own distinct characteristics in terms of |
| affects building styles; factors such as soil composition | | | | food, wine, climate, culture, dialects and so on. Regional |
| and soil humidity determine factors such as the | | | | architecture is another facet of this attraction. |
| presence, depth and type of basements and | | | | |