Cholet Property Insight

Cholet is a nice town located in the south-west of the Maine-et-Loire department. It is, with 54,632 inhabitants (the Chotelais), the second administrative centre of the department after Angers. Cholet is renowned for its textile industry.

Overview

Cholet is an important town for French fashion as textile has been present there for ages. The symbol of the town is a red handkerchief. The town had a central place in the wars of the Vendée department after the French revolution. Cholet is a very important town of the Maine-et-Loire department in terms of economy. It is the second industrial centre of the region and has several activities to offer (chemistry, electronics, furniture, computer science, food industry, etc.).

Cholet is Located at about 100km from the Atlantic coastline and benefits from a rather warm climate and green landscapes. With 12 other towns, Cholet forms a metropolitan area called ‘communauté de communes du Choletais’.

Cholet Immobilier & Property Market Trends

With an average price of €1,524 /square metre for a property to buy, Cholet offers a market with very affordable properties. 93.5% of the properties there are main houses. Concerning apartments, prices were comprised between €1,060 and €1,720 /sq m in 2008. Prices for houses to buy in Cholet have been decreasing a lot since 2007: in November 2007 the square metre used to be at €2,090, but then it went down to €1,790 in April 2009. Real estate prices for houses may vary a lot according to the size and location of the properties. A 3-room house costs between €77,000 and €108,500, whereas a 6-room one costs between €135,000 and €200,000. 5.4% of the dwellings are still vacant. Why do not drive a bargain in the lovely town of Cholet?

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

4 Reasons to Buy a Property in Cholet

• Economy: Cholet has a thriving economic life. Nowadays, the town offers various activities, but before craft industries were largely predominant with textile being the basis of the town’s economy. During the 12th century, flax growing began in Cholet. This activity has left many traces in the town: weavers’ house, fashion vocational school, textile museum, etc. Concerning textile, the speciality of Cholet is the famous red handkerchief - Cholet being called ‘capitale du mouchoir’ (handkerchief capital). Other industries of national and international fame are also present in the town.

• Events: cultural life in the town is very important all year round. Let’s discover Les Arlequins (theatre festival), the carnival in April, Les Z’allumés (concerts) and the festival of comic books in May, but also various shows with the Eté Cigale (theatre plays, concerts, etc.) every Friday from June to September every year.

• Museums: Cholet is home to a museum of art and history, that recalls the wars in which the town was involved and offers paintings from a local artist, Pierre Charles Trémolières, as well as a collection of contemporary art. The textile museum presents the weaving technicals and the bleaching of cloth. It recounts the long history of textiles in the area.

• Great setting: the town is surrounded by several natural areas which allow you to practice leisure activities or just to relax. The lakes of Ribou and Verdon, as well as the pond of Noues are located at the south of the town. The town has about 547 hectares of parks and gardens to offer with many open spaces at its outskirts. A stroll in the Parc de Moine or jardin du Mail is really relaxing. Cholet is also located 20km from the theme park ‘Puy du Fou’ and 60km from the Loire Valley.

Property Styles and Architecture in Cholet

• Town houses: there are plenty of properties in need of renovation in the Maine-et-Loire department, but many bargains can be driven in the area if you do not mind doing some renovation work. Town houses are located in the town centre, close to all the shops and cultural centres. They are often attached and come with a piece of land and a garage.
• Weavers’ houses: given the texttile activities of the town, we can find many houses which used to belong to weavers. These houses were, as their name indicates, places where the locals fabrics were weaved. They have pretty large dimensions as they had to be big enough to allow the practise of this activity. These properties full of character and will definitely seduce you!

Click here for more info about the Architecture in Pays de la Loire.