Recreational land for sale in Charente-Maritime (17) can be found as much in the marshes of Saintonge and Rochefort as in the more classic meadows and woods of the Aunis and the Haute-Saintonge: the department offers an unusually wide range of landscapes for the Atlantic coast. On this page, ma-propriete.fr gathers the listings of recreational land for sale in Charente-Maritime: a marsh meadow, a hunting pond, pine woodland close to the Landes de Gironde, a plot with a cabin.
You will find an overview of the areas where these plots are concentrated, the points to check in a coastal department with extensive marshes, and benchmarks drawn from actual sales, with farmland here trading broadly in line with the national average. A useful first step: our guide on how to turn agricultural land into recreational land: it reviews the uses allowed in agricultural or natural zones and the limits not to cross.
There is no such thing as a "recreational land price" in the French notarial records: the DVF database records sales of agricultural land, woodland and ponds, and a recreational plot is priced against these three benchmarks, higher or lower depending on what it adds (vehicle access, a water point, fencing, an existing shelter, a village nearby). The table below gives, for each benchmark, the sales recorded in 2025 in Charente-Maritime (17), the median price and the range between the first decile (floor) and the ninth decile (ceiling), with the national figure for comparison.
| DVF 2025 benchmark | Sales | Median price | Range (P10 – P90) | France median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bare agricultural land (€/ha) | 328 | €5,347/ha | €2,974/ha – €7,165/ha | €5,307/ha |
| Woodland (€/ha) | 61 | €2,660/ha | €1,557/ha – €6,173/ha | €4,934/ha |
| Pond (€/m²) * | 46 | €2.22/m² | €0.40/m² – €5.78/m² | €2.54/m² |
Bare agricultural land is close to the national median (€5,307/ha), with the median price moving +7.2% between 2020 and 2025. Woodland trades well below the national benchmark (€4,934/ha), and a pond, a much rarer asset, is valued per square metre of water and banks. To compare a listing, bring everything back to the square metre: €5,347/ha of bare land is €0.53/m², against €2.22/m² for a pond. Recreational land, almost always classified as an agricultural or natural zone, generally sells slightly above bare agricultural land; but it usually remains subject to the SAFER land agency's right of pre-emption, and the SAFER may pre-empt with a downward price revision if the price is excessive compared with local land prices. These benchmarks therefore also help you avoid paying a price the SAFER would challenge.
Find the detail by department, plot size and year in our agricultural land price observatory and in the forest price observatory. Source: DVF (Demandes de valeurs foncières), 2025 sales, processed by ma-propriete.fr; medians published from 30 sales upwards. * Fewer than 30 sales in the department: the benchmark shown is the regional figure for "Pond".
The marshes are the department's speciality: the Rochefort marsh, the Brouage marsh, the Poitevin marsh to the north towards Marans, and the Seudre marsh around Marennes. These areas offer damp meadows, reed beds and canal-side plots, much sought after for hunting and fishing. Ponds are notably more common here than in most neighbouring departments, whether former oyster-farming basins converted for other use or hunting ponds laid out within the marshes.
Further inland, in the Aunis around Surgères and in the Haute-Saintonge towards Jonzac and Montendre, bocage meadows and pine woods, sometimes from former plantations close to the Landes de Gironde, complete the supply of non-constructible land. Marsh cabins, often built on stilts in wood for hunting, are a type of plot particular to this department. Some plots combine a marsh meadow with a small fringe of woodland, prized for waterfowl hunting and often passed between hunting associations before ever reaching the open market.
The Rochefort and Brouage marshes, between Rochefort and Marennes, hold most of the supply of hunting land and ponds. The Poitevin marsh, to the north towards Marans and Courçon, offers similar plots on the border with the Vendée. The Aunis, around Surgères, offers more classic bocage meadows. The Haute-Saintonge, towards Jonzac, Montendre and Montguyon, more wooded and further from the coast, adds pine and oak woods, in a landscape that already leans towards the neighbouring Gironde.
Areas close to the coast, the Île de Ré, the Île d'Oléron and the marshes most sought after for hunting sell above the departmental average. The Haute-Saintonge and the inland areas, further from the shore, remain comparatively more affordable for a meadow or wood of the same size, roughly in line with the wider Charente-Maritime average.
In communes bordering the ocean, the marshes and the islands, the Coastal Law (loi Littoral) strictly governs building, on top of the local planning document: in an agricultural (A) or natural (N) zone, no new building is in principle allowed, and a marsh cabin cannot be installed freely. In marshes classified Natura 2000 or wetland, any development, drainage or creation of a pond falls under French water law. Also check the status of any existing pond, the condition of its dam and outlet, and the maintenance obligations.
On parcels classified as agricultural, the SAFER land agency may exercise its right of pre-emption. Also check access to the plot, often via a marsh track or a right of way, the presence of water and electricity, rare in marsh areas, and whether a precise boundary survey exists, essential on irregularly shaped plots. On the Île de Ré and the Île d'Oléron, planning rules are even stricter than on the mainland, with tight minimum plot sizes and building-height limits that any buyer should confirm with the town hall beforehand.
The listings of recreational land in Charente-Maritime published on ma-propriete.fr come from private sellers, estate agents and notaries. Filter by area, price and the presence of a pond, then set up an e-mail alert to be notified of new plots. You can also widen your search to recreational land for sale in Nouvelle-Aquitaine.
