A little drop of Cognac

A little drop of Cognac Like most of France, property prices throughout Poitou Charente have increased dramatically in recent years. However there is one "hot spot" that has seen a real economic resurgence that looks set to stimulate demand for property for some time to come. While prices in other parts of France remain susceptible to the vagaries of interest rates, the health of the Euro and the ability of cheap flight airlines to remain in profit the Charente market looks to have an interesting security blanket. The area around Cognac has always relied heavily on the Worldwide sales of the famous digestif to stimulate the local economy and indeed property values. Out of a population of around 900,000 it is estimated that 48,000 people owe their living directly to the drinks industry. Up until the late 1990's everything was rosy in the cobbled streets of Cognac with strong worldwide sales and a seemingly untouchable grip on the luxury drinks market. Then the collapse of the Asian economy struck home and in marketing terms the industry had to re-invent itself to fight off competitor drinks. Happily this must be one of the most successful case studies of all time. These days the Cognac industry is thriving again and the region is buzzing with high employment levels, rising property prices and a feelgood factor that sits comfortably alongside the traditional cheery nature of the Charentaise people. This repositioning has seen startling results in the US - Cognac has become a young, trendy and aspirational drink for "young black America" (who represent 60-80% of US sales), so much so that sales there have tripled over the past 10 years. But enough of statistics, here's the truly amazing bit. The "eau de vie" is lauded in literally hundreds of rap songs throughout the nightclubs of New York, LA, Miami and Chicago. This exposure to the US market has meant that the buying pattern of property purchasers has expanded too. Walk into the local immobilliers and you will find American and Canadian accents mixed in with the usual mixture of French , English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Dutch and other Europeans. The local papers have also been full of stories about the tourist offices running courses in Chinese language and customs. France is readying itself for a huge influx of Chinese tourists now that the barriers of entry have been dropped - they are estimating that the current number of 300,000 could top the million mark within five years. Within 10 years the Chinese will be the highest ranked visitors to France, ahead even of the British. Of course many of these visitors will be heading straight for the Charente to visit the home of their beloved Cognac. So what will their yen, dollar, pound or euro buy them? At the base level a client of ours has just bought two excellent plots of land totalling around 4,500 m2 for 50,000