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Forbes
4 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
This French Region Is Offering €1 Houses
Puy-de-Dôme, France, is offering €1 houses in its village of Ambert getty Expats often look to Paris or the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts for relocation, where you won't get the best value for your money and you'll find the crowds. Instead, you could try a small village in France that has launched an initiative to sell €1 houses to attract new residents and reinvigorate its community. Ambert has a population of 6,500 and is located in the Puy-de-Dôme region of France, approximately 134 km west of Lyon, and 475 km east of Bordeaux, and La Rochelle on the Atlantic coast. The aim is to combat population decline, revitalize the local economy, and breathe new life into its streets. The houses for €1 are part of a five-year plan aimed at halting population decline and encouraging people to relocate there. After a new class opened at the school and with several renovations underway, it might be working. However, there is still a long way to go. In some parts of the town, vacancy rates reach 60%. France is often associated with having an 'empty' middle, a strip of vast land that traverses the country diagonally (the 'diagonale du vide', the empty diagonal), which is less populated than its mountains or coastlines and has fewer infrastructure and services. It's not empty, though, and has many lovely towns and villages within. However, it's where the population has shifted from rural to urban areas since the end of the 19th century. Many of these places have increasingly begun to offer stimulus to encourage newcomers. It's common to find these types of opportunities across Italy and sometimes Spain. Last summer, for example, one rural region in Spain offered remote workers the promise of a permanent, idyllic home and additional income, up to $16,000 if you relocated to Ambroz Valley, just a three-hour drive from the Spanish capital, Madrid, and a four-hour drive to Lisbon, Portugal. Several other French villages have offered €1 houses in the past, notably in the northern Picardie region, where, in 2019, they were offering €5,000 to relocate there as well. These houses never actually cost just one euro, as you would have to commit to restoring the home, including the façade, which increases the real cost by several thousand euros. The U.K.'s Independent newspaper recently noted that in Italy, "the cost of renovations is still relatively low compared to other countries – in the region of €20,000–50,000 depending on the size of the property." You wouldn't need to be a French citizen, but you would need to be keen to live there, and a little French might go a long way when dealing with contractors. However, aid is available to help with the cost of reconstruction in the form of grants and low-interest loans. Buyers are also required to commit to renovating the homes within a specific timeframe, ensuring the properties are restored and liveable. They also need actually to live there for at least three years. Anyone interested in living in Ambert, France, and buying €1 houses, can contact the local town hall here. MORE FROM FORBES Forbes Retire To France, Live Like A Tourist—It's More Affordable Than You Think By Alex Ledsom Forbes The Five Safest Countries In The World, Per 2025 Global Peace Index By Alex Ledsom Forbes What It Means To Be Wealthy In New Zealand By Alex Ledsom
The Sun
08-07-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Brits can buy a home for €1 in French town that's set in a majestic natural park & gets 300 sunny days a year
A FRENCH town is offering Brits the chance to up sticks and purchase a house for just one euro. The quaint village, located in Auverne, central France is struggling with a declining population, so is offering the bargain properties in a bid to entice newcomers in to the area. 5 5 5 Italy launched a similar scheme back in 2017, with thousands relocating to idyllic Italian properties purchased for as little as 86p. Declining population Just 6,500 people currently live in Ambert, with locals hoping that the scheme will help to boost the population. The town, which is famous for the Forme d'Ambert cheese, has revealed a five year plan to improve the number of residents, with 60 percent of properties left vacant in one suburb. The wider scheme appears to have proven successful so far, as an extra class was added to the local school two years ago. Two one euro homes are currently on the market, both of which need significant renovations doing to them. Situated within a natural park Those who choose to purchase the homes will find themselves living within the surroundings of the stunning Natural Regional Park of Livradois-Forez. The natural park features rolling hills, deer, beautiful landscapes and plenty of quaint towns and villages to explore. In Ambert itself, you can find the Museum of Cheese, dedicated to Fourme d'Ambert, a blue cheese which dates back to Roman times. The town also has a paper mill, and a circular town hall called La Mairie. Plus, residents bask in 300 days of sunshine a year. I bought a one euro house in Italy - it now has its own spa and wine my dream home Homes come with strict terms and conditions Although the homes may seem like an absolute bargain, they come with their fair share of terms and conditions. To start with, anyone looking for a second-home is prohibited from snapping up the one euro properties. Plus, although the initial cost is extremely low, the two homes will be expensive to renovate. Once the houses have been made habitable, the owners are required to live in them for at least three years. Four cheap home renovation tricks YOU don't have to spend loads to give a room a new look. Here are five other home renovation tricks you can try. Kitchen cupboards One way to give your kitchen a complete transformation for less is to change the look of the kitchen cupboards. There are loads of different vinyl coverings out there to choose from, and it's a quick and easy way to update your home. Handles Another thing you can try that won't break the bank is to change up the handles. You can pick up relatively cheap handles in DIY stores, or even in the charity shop. Adding new ones to your kitchen cupboards, or doors in your house, can be extremely effective. Leftovers Most of us have old half-used tins of paint in the garage, but they're often forgotten about. However, there may be enough in the pot to paint a feature wall in another room, and you won't have to spend a penny. Freebies It's worth checking your local Facebook Marketplace, or Freecycle, to see what other people are getting rid of. As they say, one person's trash is another person's treasure. And if someone's planning to revamp a room, they might want to get rid of a sofa, or a coffee table, which you could use to give a lounge a new look. If they do not, hefty fines could be given out, including paying back any government grants given out for refurbishment. If you're looking for a job once you've moved to Ambert, the town's historic chamber of commerce and industry building is currently undergoing renovations. Once it reopens in 2026, it will bring lots of new jobs for locals. You will of course, have to brush up on your French though. One Brit who previously bought one of Italy's one euro home s, told how it hardly cost anything to renovate. Another revealed that hundreds are now desperate to pay to rent his one euro home. 5 5
Daily Mail
07-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
The stunning French village selling homes for one euro - and the clever reason behind the cheap deal
In the past few years, several small towns in Italy have made headlines for offering vacant homes for €1 in an effort to boost dwindling populations and breathe new life into abandoned villages. Now, the well-received initiative appears to be catching on elsewhere in Europe - with a quiet French town recently joining the €1 homes club. Ambert, located in the southeast of France, has become the latest community to adopt the tactic, in the hopes of stopping its population of 6,500 from shrinking any further. The move is part of a wider five-year plan to attract new residents and rejuvenate local life. In one area of the town, property vacancy rates have reached up to 60 per cent, prompting authorities to put two empty homes on the market for just one euro each - the equivalent to 85p. So far, the broader project seems to be showing signs of success, as a new class was added to Ambert's school two years ago due to growing enrolment. In addition, the town's historic chamber of commerce and industry building is currently undergoing renovations. It's expected to reopen in 2026 as a public space - bringing with it new jobs for local residents. This means selling the €1 homes shouldn't be too difficult - but, like many similar schemes, such as those seen in Italy, the offer comes with its fair share of terms and conditions. While the initial cost is an indisputable bargain, buyers are expected to invest significantly in renovations and meet strict requirements if they want the keys. To begin with, second-home buyers are prohibited from buying into the scheme. According to The Local, those who purchase a €1 house in Ambert must commit to living in the property full-time for at least three years once it's been made habitable. If they fail to do so, they risk financial penalties, including the repayment of any government grants given for refurbishment works. And there's a good reason for that funding: the houses need a lot of work. From the roof to the wiring, and everything in between, the two homes on offer require extensive renovations. Potential buyers may even be asked to provide a written plan outlining the extent of the work and how long it will take to complete. If you're already picturing your new life in rural France and don't mind taking on a challenging DIY project, one of these homes might be for you - although it's worth considering brushing up on your French language skills before making the move. It comes after a British man who bought a house in Italy for the bargain price of just €1/85p has revealed he now has hundreds of people desperate to rent it out. George Laing, 32, bought the derelict three-storey property in Mussomeli, a town in Sicily, in December 2022. The Brit purchased the bargain home under a renovation scheme set up by the council. Once George had paid for admin fees, agency costs and energy certificates, the purchase price came to €5,000/£4,300.
