Before comparing listings, it is worth knowing what you are looking for: schools, shops and the railway station close by if you stay in Narbonne itself, or the quiet of a commune such as Moussan, Vinassan or Gruissan. Each option has its trade-offs: travelling time on one side, price and density on the other.
Setting this out at the start avoids visiting plots that are attractive but incompatible with daily life: the commute, the children's school, activities.
Two plots of the same size are not equal. Orientation determines how much sun the living rooms get and what a terrace can offer; in the Aude, exposure to the wind, the cers or the marin, counts just as much. The shape of the plot, its slope and its access govern where the house can sit and what the earthworks will cost.
A visit at different times of day often tells you more than a drawing.
The price of the plot is only part of the budget. An unserviced plot means connections to water, electricity, telecommunications and drainage; depending on the case, earthworks, forming the access or a soil survey are added to that. These items should be priced before you buy, not after.
Prices also vary appreciably from one commune to the next, particularly as you approach the coast. Widening the search to neighbouring communes, such as Coursan or Montredon-des-Corbières, often opens up other possibilities.
Each commune applies its own planning document: whether the land can be built on, building footprint, height, appearance of buildings. On the coast, at Gruissan or Saint-Pierre-la-Mer, additional environmental constraints may apply.
The nature of the ground determines the foundations, and therefore part of the cost of building: a geotechnical survey is money well spent. You should also consult the plans de prévention des risques naturels, the French natural risk prevention plans that apply to the plot, particularly for flooding and ground movement.
Narbonne is well served: the A9 motorway and the railway station make it easy to reach Béziers, Perpignan or Montpellier. Depending on the commune you choose, the distance to shops, schools and healthcare will weigh on daily life for years.
Then there is the setting, the most personal criterion of all: the vineyards around the town, the sea at Gruissan, the Corbières over towards Lagrasse. Taking the time to stay in the area before buying is rarely time wasted.
A plot is also judged by what it implies for the build: site access, earthworks, foundations, connections. MCI Construction looks at these points before you buy; the survey and the quote are free.
The company works in Narbonne, the Grand Narbonne, the Corbières, the Minervois and along the Aude coast, as far as Béziers.