With over 55 million euros of transactions generated in the first half of the year by the BARNES offices in Biarritz, Saint-Jean-de-Luz and Hossegor, the Basque Coast property market is stronger than ever.
The figures alone speak to the Olympic form of the Basque Coast:
- Rising demand: the Basque Coast draws people looking for both primary and holiday homes, with a 175% increase in searches on the main online property portals in the space of 2 years.
- Searches on the BARNES Côte Basque website doubled over the same period, up from 20,000 to 40,500 unique users per month.
- A substantial portfolio of sales mandates but melting away: the number of new mandates is comparable to previous years, but the vastly reduced sale times are cutting the portfolio volume in half.
“The optimism in the financial markets in view of the strong pickup in economic activity is driving stock market prices to record highs, generating capital gains ready to be reinvested, particularly in real estate”, explains Philippe Thomine Desmazures, Associate Director of BARNES Côte Basque and BARNES Hossegor. “With the same causes producing the same effects, we have seen a 17% price rise in Biarritz since July 2020. And the same has been seen in comparable proportions along the entire Basque Coast. The current philosophy seems to be buy a house or apartment whatever the cost!”
In terms of seasonal rentals, a dual asymmetry is at work:
- A shortage of lodgers in July: the difficulties for foreigners wanting to travel to France are causing a large part of demand to dry up among this clientèle that usually arrives en masse in July. A large number of superb rental properties are therefore remaining vacant despite the extremely attractive prices.
- A shortage of rental supply in August: French people, and particularly those taking their holiday in August, are travelling abroad less compared to before the COVID-19 epidemic and instead are staying in France, with a preference for the Basque Coast. The result is that the same philosophy applies but adapted to become rent a house in the Basque Country whatever the cost! Seasonal rentals on the Basque Coast are a 100% SoBARNES theme that we briefly covered in the spring.
So we have a question for Philippe Thomine Desmazures: what’s the outlook for the second half of the year? “Our crystal ball to predict the property market over the coming months seems clearer in light of the positive context, with the arrival of vaccinations, economic growth and favourable political perspectives. The only blip on the horizon is the increasing scarcity in terms of supply, which certainly won't help slow the price rise. Which leads to the inevitable question: can prices keep rising?” ». To increase or not to increase, that is the question. You can count on us to monitor things closely and keep you updated.
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Contact :
Biarritz : +33 (0)5 59 51 00 00 / [email protected]
Saint-Jean-de-Luz : +33 (0)5 59 51 00 08 / [email protected]
Hossegor : +33 (0)5 58 71 77 14 / [email protected]
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