Thankfully in France houses are for people to live in, as a home, and not some kind of financial ‘asset’ for gambling purposes.
Therefore prices in France tend to be more stable, ensuring that people of modest means can afford to buy a roof over their head, instead of being priced out of such a basic human need by profligate speculation, as has happened in the disastrous UK housing market.
If you need somewhere to live, do your research in the desired area, and go and live there, or keep it for your own holidays.
Houses are for people to live in, not to make money on the backs of the less fortunate.
Rant over.
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Many thanks. I completely agree. Investors can ruin the market and chances for the genuine home seekers. Rant in agreement 
Yes, we’ll let you know how we get on.
Take care
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A few comments. I have had a place near Cordes sur Ciel for 5 years. The price you seek is vaguely feasible in more remote villages in Aveyron and Herault. Tougher in Tarn or Tarn et Garonne. Rodez may be the airport you seek. In my opinion the SW is much easier and less crowded than the SE, but some people prefer larger expat populations, etc. I totally agree that investment gain is unlikely.
A few facts/opinions: 1) France is one of the few nations in Europe with a positive population growth rate based on births. 2) Demographic shifts are not quite as severe as the UK, Germany or Italy–or even Spain. That is, the population is aging less fast. 3) France is far LESS urbanized than, say, Spain. Spain’s 100th largest town is far larger than France’s 100 largest but France has FAR MORE people. This suggests rural life in France is considered more feasible and desirable than in some other places. 4) France local food production is hugely larger than virtually any other country. As such, people grow their own food quite commonly and the local market is often filled with local in season food. Chicken keeping, etc. are far more common than in the UK or Germany and even Spain. 5) While some claim rennovation costs are higher in France, there is no good statistical evidence of this and I have myself spoken with several British builders working in France who claim it is absolutely false. I know it is a common meme.
I wish you all the best, but I would find something to “fix up” and work on it yourself while you grow your own food, etc. Very much the French way. It is obviously not the UK way in the main… but I suspect as climate change and localism come home to roost, France will be seen as the future–not the past.
Kind wishes for a happy landing.
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Would you like to come over here and weed our courtyard then Stella?
more than enough here, thank you Jane. 
and we are looking at creeping ground cover which will support the good insects and not need weeding…
That’s fine, but you can’t cover your parking area in groundcover.
why not… I’m talking about creeping thyme and such stuff… parking doesn’t have to be virgin concrete…
We do! There’s absolutely no way I can hand weed the amount of parking space we have and there’s no way I’m going to use round-up etc. (been organic since the 70s). So, beginning of gite season, everything gets strimmed down as low as possible to make it look neat and then when we have time more grit gets thrown on top.
Thanks so much for all the great information. It truly can represent ‘the good life’ and it’s a dream I’ve always had of being somewhat self-sufficient food wise. Will also have a look at the places you mentioned. Looking forward to making the dream a reality. Thanks a million and really appreciate it.
It’s not concrete at all, it is pebbles.
Jane… it doesn’t have to be virgin pebbles either… 
Well it can’t be now.
We like the courtyard to look neat and tidy because it is shared with the gite.
Perhaps we all have to rethink what we do and how we do it… and not only with regards to the garden. The environment is in need of our help…
Where we are in the Langeudoc the prices have been on the slide for years and it has been worse since 2016.
But much depends on what sort of property you are after and the location.
The prices of the sort of property that the French want, which aren’t the older properties that many Brits look for, have held up better.
High end properties that have a lot of money spent on renovating and modernising them may well hold their value well, but these have always been subject to the right person turning up that has the money available and “takes a fancy” to the property.
Whether the depressed prices make up for the continuing slide of the £ vs € remains to be seen. Given some of the predictions for the exchange rate “the pound in your pocket” could be worth much less for people from the UK looking to buy in France.
We bought our house in southern Tarn 15 yars ago. Prices have barely moved since!
Hi Laura, I suggest taking a look at dept. 66 - Pyrénées-Orientales and keeping an open mind about your preferred future situation. Geography should be your first guide. We have the mountains and the Med, as a wise acquaintance once put it. Plenty of Spanish / Spanish descended folks in the area making it less “French”. Certainly outsiders seem especially welcome in this department. Look at the major valleys running west to east inland of Perpignan, for example. (corresponding to the rivers Agly, Tet, and Tech) You could find a move-innable village house in Rasigueres or Planeze (Agly valley) within your budget but, of course, being a village house it’s highly unlikely to have an attached garden. You will, however, benefit enormously during the summer months when you find out the village houses are huddled together to keep cool. Potagers, small parcels of land / allotments are available to rent and buy at the periphery of the villages nearer to the river where the soil is invariably better. Ask at the local mairie. You’ll also enjoy far fewer bothersome insects living in a village house (especially if it’s in the centre) compared to a villa on the outskirts (Sometimes in flood prone areas) with an attached garden. Internet will soon be massively improved in the villages with end-to-end fiber links. This in itself should pique your interest regarding property prices because, as an Internet worker myself, I can well see more of my ilk making the decision to relocate to the sun (300+ days a year) - especially after 2022 when much of the new French internet infrastructure will be in operation. Incidentally, this will also be the year of the French presidential elections. It’s not entirely improbable that the Nationalists will take power and the implications of this possibility also need to be carefully considered. If you’re interested in knowing more about the P.O. then feel free to ask. I am not an estate agent and I do NOT have a house to sell you, or a friend with a house to sell you. anyway - as I said - pls keep an open mind and you might actually make it out here! In any case, best of luck!
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Interesting factoid: grass grows from the roots up, as opposed to most plants which grow from the tops. So if you keep taking the top off grass, it keeps on growing. This is why the symbiosis of grazing animals and grass is such an evolutionary success.
Once I’d found this out I decided to see what would happen if I didn’t mow the grass in the garden of my house in Bristol. After 18 months - two growing seasons - it peaked at about knee height. I guess this wouldn’t do for anybody who actually uses their garden but, not being used to having one, I frequently forget I had it and would occasionally look out of the kitchen window in surprise, “That’s my garden!”
Errr not in my book…all plants whether grasses or not grow from their growth points and in most grasses this is close to the base of the plant. However, some grasses like Timothy have their growth point above the first leaf joint.
But plants have a natural height and spread, so the grasses in your garden will grow to their max height. You most probably have a mix of meadow grasses right now, which will get to knee height. But if other grass species come in, like bromes, bents, or things like glyceria then you won’t be looking out of your window as they can grow to head height. If you cut your ‘lawn” once a year around July time then you will keep it manageable and maybe even develop a beautiful wildflower meadow over time.
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I defer to anyone who knows the name of any grass specie. I read it in a piece about the praries in the US.
I did cut it eventually. It took three passes with the strimmer.