Looking for recreational land for sale in Haute-Loire (43) means looking at the volcanic Velay and the high plateaus of the Margeride: summer-grazing meadows around the Mézenc, terraced chestnut groves in the Allier gorges, coniferous woods on the Devès plateau, moorland in the Margeride. On this page, ma-propriete.fr gathers the listings of recreational land for sale in Haute-Loire: a mountain meadow, a wooded plot, land with access to a river.
You will find price benchmarks drawn from actual sales, an overview of where these plots are found and the points to check before buying an agricultural or natural-zone parcel. Before any viewing, go through our guide on how to turn agricultural land into recreational land: it explains what local planning rules allow, and what they forbid.
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 Haute-Loire (43), 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) | 93 | €3,487/ha | €2,112/ha – €6,592/ha | €5,307/ha |
| Woodland (€/ha) | 109 | €3,827/ha | €1,677/ha – €9,064/ha | €4,934/ha |
| Pond (€/m²) * | 313 | €2.54/m² | €1.03/m² – €6.90/m² | €2.54/m² |
Bare agricultural land is well below the national median (€5,307/ha), with the median price moving +8.2% 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: €3,487/ha of bare land is €0.35/m², against €2.54/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 national figure for "Pond".
Haute-Loire is a department of volcanic mid-mountain terrain, where summer-grazing meadows clearly dominate: around the Mézenc and the Meygal, high-altitude pastures, bordered by volcanic stone walls, make up most of the supply of non-constructible land. On the Devès plateau, further west, coniferous and beech woods alternate with moorland from former, now abandoned crops. This diversity, from volcanic plateau to granite gorge, explains very different uses from one part of the department to another.
To the south, the gorges de l'Allier, between Langeac and Prades, offer terraced chestnut groves, often left fallow, and riverside plots sought after for fishing. To the east, the Margeride, towards Saugues, adds gorse moorland and scattered woods. Ponds are almost absent from this granite and volcanic relief, where only a few isolated hillside reservoirs remain.
The Velay, around Le Puy-en-Velay, Saint-Julien-Chapteuil and Yssingeaux, concentrates the summer-grazing meadows and woods of the Mézenc and the Meygal. The Devès plateau, towards Le Monastier-sur-Gazeille, offers more affordable woodland. The gorges de l'Allier, around Langeac and Saugues, add riverside plots and sloping chestnut groves. Haute-Loire has no TGV station; Le Puy-en-Velay is served by TER trains, and Saint-Étienne, around an hour and a half away by road, offers the nearest TGV connection.
The most affordable areas lie in the Margeride and the Devès, away from main roads; summer-grazing meadows near the Mézenc and woods around Yssingeaux sell below the national average for farmland, as does most of the department. The Haut-Allier, towards Pinols and Saugues, remains one of the most affordable areas for a meadow or a sloping chestnut grove.
First check the commune's local planning document (PLU), or national planning rules where none exists: in an agricultural (A) or natural (N) zone, a cabin, a chalet or a light leisure dwelling cannot be installed freely, and long-term parking of a caravan or mobile home remains regulated. At altitude, prolonged snow cover can restrict access for part of the year; also check access (rural track, right of way, landlocked status), rarely paved on isolated summer pastures. Buyers should also expect the summer-grazing season to affect when a mountain plot can realistically be visited and assessed.
On land classified as agricultural, SAFER may exercise its right of pre-emption, with a risk of the price being revised downward if it exceeds local farmland prices. Water and electricity are often missing on these mountain plots. Finally, have the exact boundary survey checked and whether joint ownership applies, common on small plots inherited from family farming. On summer-pasture plots, also check for a grazing agreement with a local farmer, which can condition the land's use. This is worth bearing in mind when comparing offers, as it can shift the timeline as much as the price. Ask, too, whether the shelter, if any, was ever formally authorised.
The listings of recreational land in Haute-Loire published on ma-propriete.fr come from private sellers, estate agents and notaries. Filter by area, altitude and the presence of a watercourse, 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 Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Specify the preferred area, between the Velay, the Devès or the Margeride, to narrow your search.
