Properties in the Languedoc,over the last few years,have seen a great growth. It was always called the poor man's Provence, but they can eat their words now. Over the last 5 years, properties in the Languedoc have increase by about 80%. Also, there has been a huge rise in these properties being turned into Gites.

Where does this interest come from? One huge pointer is the growth of airports served by the Budget airlines.

Properties located near airports served by low cost airlines are nearly 40% more valuable than others.This was one of the key findings of the survey which questioned 12,000 owners of overseas property.

Analysis of properties in the survey showed that the average price of a property located within 10 miles of an airport served by a low cost airline is 39% higher than for properties within the same distance to an airport without a low cost airline carrier. The research showed that the price impact reduced as the distance from the airport increased - there was only a 2% difference in the average price of properties situated over 80 miles from an airport.

The survey revealed that properties served by low cost airlines also had higher average rents than those without. The additional rent was as much as 30% for properties within 10-20 miles of airports.

The potential to charge higher weekly rents is enhanced when properties are serviced by one of the cheap airline operators. This is because the travel costs are lower and so holidaymakers are willing to pay more in weekly rents for a better holiday property. This is clearly important to investors as these properties are generally easier to let and less likely to suffer from long void periods.

One of the most important motivations amongst the respondents to the survey for buying holiday properties was their rental potential. When considering the factors influencing price growth, well over half of them recognised that new emerging holiday destinations, characterised by a growing number of flights and low cost airlines, offered the greatest opportunity for price growth

So, if you are considering to invest in the Languedoc, and turn this Property Investment into a Gite, you may well need to consider its location to such airports.

There has been a huge growth in Gites in the Languedoc over the last 5 years. This has meant that potential renters have a larger choice, and those with poor results in such search engines as Google, are finding this year that numbers are down. You may want to look at having your own website.

The Gite business in the Aude,as well as the Languedoc, can be lucrative- but think location,location,location!