Mazamet Property Insight

Mazamet stands in the Tarn department and has a population of 10,000 inhabitants. It benefits for an exceptional location in the Midi-Pyrenees region, close to the Regional Park of the Haut-Languedoc and lies at the foot of the Montagne Noire.

Moreover, numerous lakes surround Mazamet and allow the practice of several activities and above all, to fully take advantage of the particular nature of the Montagne Noire. Depending on the mountainside, it offers landscapes as extraordinary as different.

Overview

The foundation of the town started with a small fortified village named Hautpoul, which was founded in the 5th century. At the end of the Middle Ages, Mazamet settled permanently in the valley of the Arnette River around the 16th century, and began developing a flourishing textile industry of good reputation. In the middle of the 19th century, they perfected a technique called “delainage” which consist in separating the lamb’s wool from the skin of lambs. This technique turned Mazamet into a pioneer for a worldwide business. For the inhabitants, the next 100 years were economically what they call a miracle!

Since 1980, this trade has no more been profitable, but new sectors are growing today, such as new technologies, precision mechanics and dentures.

Mazamet Immobilier & Property Market Trends

Close to the town of Castres, Mazamet takes advantage of the cheap prices of the sector. Indeed, this sector is the least expensive of the department, which is itself quite affordable. At the beginning of 2009, the price to buy a property in this town was around €1,300/ s qm. In comparison to the national average which is around €3,200/ s qm, it is quite advantageous to invest in Mazamet.

Since 2002, several openings of gîtes and chambres-tables d’hôte developed in Mazamet and its surroundings. This is due to the beauty of the area which has a real potential to attract tourists, combined with the cheap prices of the property market. One of two bed and breakfasts has been created by English people, and it still has good opportunities because more than 11% of the properties are vacant and wait for landlords.

With around 10,000 inhabitants, Mazamet remains rural and thus, has a majority of houses and only 27% of apartments. Many people live there all year round, but 5% of the homes are second homes.

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

5 Reasons to Buy a Property in Mazamet

With its sheer relief, this small town benefits from a good situation. Surrounded by mountains and hills, many lakes but also rivers are accessible and give the opportunity for doing many activities such as fishing, bathing or even more sportive ones. However, if the place seems to be peaceful and quiet, do not think that there is nothing to do there. On the contrary, Mazamet is a beautiful living town.

• Events: Mazamet provides many events and festivals. For example, the festival Optimômes is street theatre dedicated to the children. In July, the Festival International Fanfares sans Frontieres brings together a selection of the best foreign brass bands to parade in the streets during one week. On the Thursday, “la Parade des Nations” is the occasion for all the brass bands to go twice around the town while the inhabitants meet in the bodegas (outdoor bars or in cellars with festive music) and the streets. During all days of the week, several animations take place in the town centre, in particular the famous “waiters’ race” open to everybody. The Rallye Montagne Noire (a car rally in the mountain) is also quite famous, and many medieval animations are organised during the summer in Hautpoul, a former Middle Ages village part of Mazamet.

• Market: the markets are very important there, as attest the three weekly markets which take place all year round every Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday. In addition, seasonal fairs (extended market) take place in February, May and November. Between September and December, the typical “Marché au gras” sell local products such as foie gras, ducks, gooses, duck breasts…

• Activities: the exceptional nature surrounding Mazamet offers a real choice of activities for those who like the great outdoors. Lots of hiking tracks are accessible directly from the town centre and can be covered by foot or in doing horse riding or mountain biking. Born in Mazamet, Laurent Jalabert was ranked number 1 in the 1990s in the cycling discipline. Thus, many cycling routes exist and a race named after him has been created in 2002 which brings each year around 1,500 racing cyclists together. The large lake of Montagnès became a leisure centre and now offers many facilities to spend great times. There, you will be able to do fishing, bathing, mini-golf, etc… and all this in a green setting.

• Medieval village of Hautpoul: a hilltop village, Hautpoul, overlooks Mazamet situated in the valley. This medieval village keeps the entrance of the Montagne Noire and its vast forests. Founded in 413 AD, it knew many bloody religion wars. Little by little, its inhabitants left the village for the valley. Nowadays, the craftsmen are using the ancient houses as studios and the narrow streets and the small squares become lively. In one of the old houses, you can taste regional specialities but also medieval dishes.

• Transport Links: Mazamet really has a privileged location. Only at 1h15 from Toulouse international airport and 45 min from Carcassonne airport and its low-cost companies, the commune of Mazamet itself has an airport (Castres-Mazamet airport). For the moment, it only offers flights to Lyon and Paris in France, but in March 2009 some negotiations to open lines with some low-cost companies were still on progress.

Property Styles and Architecture in Mazamet

• Manors: many huge and charming properties can be seen in Mazamet, most of them dating from the 19th century. These manors can have complex roof and volume; it is to say multiple gambles and a roof alternating flat surfaces with triangular ones. The roof often has a sort of corbel as well, with pieces of wood which jut out of the wall to bear its superincumbent weight. Or, on the contrary, these manors can have a simple volume and a flat roof in tiles. The common characteristics of these houses are the coloured bricks framing all the windows and doors. Often, the bricks are red, but sometimes light yellow ones are alternated with the red ones for a more beautiful effect. It is also not rare to find bull’s eye at the top of the houses, and of course, the typical coloured shutters of the south at all the windows.
• Town houses: next to the elegant manors, many smaller town houses exist. They are often built in ciment and comprise coloured shutters, typical of the area. The roof is usually made of tiles and the houses sometimes have a small balcony. In the town centre, they are located close to all amenities and are generally practically laid out.

Click here for more info about the Architecture of Languedoc-Roussillon.