4-Bed Period House with Architect Extension in Cantal, Auvergne – Second Home



Auvergne, Cantal, St-Etienne-De-Maurs, France, Saint-Étienne-de-Maurs (France)
4 Bedrooms · 2 Bathrooms · 265m² Floor area
€514,500
House
Parking
4 Bedrooms
2 Bathrooms
265m²
Garden
No pool
Not furnished
Description
On a quiet Sunday morning in Saint-Étienne-de-Maurs, the smell of bread drifting from the boulangerie on Rue du Commerce reaches you before you even open the kitchen window. That's the kind of place this is. A village where people still nod to strangers, where the weekly market on the square sells raw-milk Salers cheese and jarred walnut confiture made two valleys over, and where a 265-square-metre house with an architect-designed extension can still be yours for a price that would barely buy a two-bedroom flat in Lyon.
The property itself is a genuinely rare find in the Cantal. The original stone building — solid, unpretentious, the kind that's been weathered into character rather than manufactured with it — has been extended by an architect with a confident eye. The result is a 65-square-metre living area that floods with southern light through oversized glazing, the kind of room where the boundary between inside and the garden terrace quietly dissolves on warm evenings. A suspended mezzanine floats above the dining room below, visible from the kitchen, adding a vertical drama you simply don't expect in a village house at this price point. It's the detail that stops you mid-tour.
The layout is thoughtful in ways that matter day-to-day. The fitted kitchen opens directly into the dining room — not through a corridor, not around a corner — so cooking for eight people on a Friday night feels social rather than isolating. The original building retains a master suite with its own shower room and WC on the ground floor, meaning guests or older family members never need to navigate stairs. Three further bedrooms and a well-equipped bathroom with both bathtub and shower occupy the main sleeping wing, while the upper level — currently open in its possibilities — can be shaped into whatever the next owner needs: a studio for rental income, a games room for teenagers, a fifth bedroom, or a home office that genuinely feels separate from family life. The attic above still has conversion potential. The house is already generous; it could be more.
Outside, the 700-square-metre enclosed garden is maintained and immediately usable. The terrace is sized for a proper table and chairs — the sort of outdoor dining setup that gets used from April through October in this part of France. A large garage handles several vehicles with room to spare, which matters here because the Cantal is car country. The plot is fenced, which is practical both for young children and for leaving the property unoccupied between visits.
Saint-Étienne-de-Maurs sits in the southernmost reach of the Cantal, roughly 35 kilometres from Figeac and about 50 from Aurillac, the departmental capital. This corner of the Massif Central gets overlooked by international buyers who focus on Dordogne or Lot, which is precisely why property values here remain rational. The village has its essential services — pharmacy, medical practice, a couple of restaurants, a primary school — without the tourist inflation that has pushed prices through the roof in better-known Aveyron villages nearby.
The Lot Valley is a fifteen-minute drive south. The Célé Valley, one of the most quietly extraordinary river landscapes in France — dramatic limestone gorges, medieval villages clinging to cliff faces, the GR651 hiking trail running its full length — is similarly close. In summer you can kayak the Lot from Cajarc or Capdenac, cycle the Voie Verte between Figeac and Conduché, or spend an afternoon at the Château de Cénevières overlooking the river. The market at Figeac on Saturday mornings is worth planning a weekend around: the Place Carnot fills with regional producers selling foie gras, black truffles in season, Quercy lamb, and bottles of Marcillac wine from just over the departmental border.
Winter in the Cantal is real winter — crisp, clear, and occasionally snowed in for a day or two, which most buyers from northern Europe find unexpectedly appealing rather than inconvenient. The Plomb du Cantal, the region's highest peak at 1,855 metres, is under two hours away. The ski area at Lioran is modest but functional, and the cross-country trails around Super-Lioran are genuinely excellent. The summer hiking season runs from May to October, with the Monts du Cantal offering high-altitude routes that stay blissfully uncrowded compared to the Alps or Pyrenees.
Aurillac airport handles seasonal connections, and Brive-la-Gaillarde — roughly 90 minutes north — has regular flights from several UK and European cities. The A20 motorway from Paris reaches the area in around five hours of easy driving. For buyers relocating permanently or spending extended periods, the TGV station at Brive connects to Paris in under four hours.
For international buyers, the French property purchase process here is conventional and well-established. A notaire handles the transaction, purchase costs (frais de notaire) run approximately 7–8% on top of the sale price, and there are no restrictions on non-EU nationals owning residential property in France. The property's size, configuration, and upper-floor flexibility make it well-suited to seasonal rental through platforms targeting the cycling, hiking, and rural tourism market — a market that has grown steadily in this region over the past several years. A four-bedroom house with multiple living spaces and a good garden commands strong weekly rates in July and August without the management overhead of a larger gîte complex.
At 514,500 euros for 265 square metres in good condition with an architect extension, this is not a project house. It's a house that works now, with room to personalise over time.
Key features at a glance:
- 265 sq m of living space across original stone building and architect-designed extension
- 4 bedrooms plus flexible upper-level space with separate access potential
- 2 bathrooms (one with bathtub and shower, one shower room with WC)
- Architect-designed 65 sq m living room with large windows and garden connection
- Suspended mezzanine above dining room — a genuine architectural statement
- Fitted kitchen opening directly into dining room, ideal for entertaining
- Ground-floor master suite with shower room and WC
- 15 sq m home office or professional practice space
- Convertible attic with existing mezzanine feature
- 700 sq m enclosed, maintained garden with terrace
- Large garage for multiple vehicles
- 35 km from Figeac, 50 km from Aurillac
- 15 minutes from the Lot and Célé valleys
- Seasonal rental income potential in growing rural tourism market
- No renovation required — move-in ready condition
If you'd like to arrange a viewing or receive the full technical dossier, contact us through Homestra today. Properties at this specification in the southern Cantal sell quietly and quickly — usually before they attract much attention online.
Details
- Amount of bedrooms
- 4
- Size
- 265m²
- Price per m²
- €1,942
- Garden size
- 7000m²
- Has Garden
- Yes
- Has Parking
- Yes
- Has Basement
- No
- Condition
- good
- Amount of Bathrooms
- 2
- Has swimming pool
- No
- Property type
- House
- Energy label
Unknown
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