Le Golf de Chiberta : residential and contemporary
Radia Amar - 15 April 2014
Less than 10 minutes from the centre of Biarritz, nestling in the pines and edged by a beach several kilometres long, Le Golf de Chiberta is a residential area offering lots of assets.
Forming part of the agglomeration of Biarritz (every 15 minutes, a bus service takes passengers to the town centre in just 7 minutes), the Chiberta neighbourhood on the commune of Anglet offers a quality life-style typical of the Landes, basking in an atmosphere of endless holidays. Between its legendary golf-course, beaches and pinewoods, it is bordered by the forest of La Pignada with its hiking trails, biking paths and “accrobranche” adventure circuit. Furthermore, the area is close to the shopping zones of Les Cinq Cantons and Chambre d’Amour.
In this setting where nature is omnipresent, most of the homes benefit from peacefulness and vast spacious grounds. “Despite the high prices, supply and demand balance out evenly : the starting price for a suburban house is somewhere between 700,000 and 800,000 €. For a smart contemporary villa, one needs a budget ranging from 1,200,000 to 1,300,000 €, though prices can attain 3 or 4 million euros,” explains Nicolas Descamps, director of Côte Ouest Immobilier Christie’s International Real Estate. “In addition to a property’s appointments, the criteria determining its price lie in the presence, or non-existence, of a view of the sea and golf-course. As sea views are rare, houses lucky enough to have one can automatically justify their higher price-tags.” Until the 1960’s, no-one took any interest in the area. Over a period of 40 years, the trend reversed : owners here now occupy their homes on a seasonal basis or all year round. Mostly from Paris, Bordeaux and Toulouse, they are drawn by the wide choice of contemporary villas available in the area, thanks to a municipality which authorizes modern constructions. “It’s not rare that certain villas in out-dated styles are razed to the ground so that the owners can build their dream homes, designed by architects with vast picture windows,” adds our specialist. As a matter of fact, the Côte Ouest Immobilier agency currently has about a dozen building plots up for sale in the area, priced from 600 to 800 € per sq. metre.
According to Philippe Thomine Desmazures, associate director of the Barnes Côte Basque agency, the strongest point of the Chiberta neighbourhood resides in the fact that “here, you can find something that doesn’t exist elsewhere ! It is the only neighbourhood close to Biarritz where you can acquire a quiet villa near the beach with generous grounds and a view of the sea”. Clients are mostly French and in their early fifties. “We also see a few foreigners who have discovered and fallen for the region while on holiday, like a Russian couple who just treated themselves to a sublime Art Deco residence 100 metres from the beach, priced at over 6 million euros. Usually, however, the price of a property varies here depending on its condition, style and precise location.” A house of 250 m2 built in the 1960’s–1970’s in grounds of 1,200 m2 thus costs around 1 million euros. “It sometimes happens that the land will be of more interest than the house itself : if it no longer suits today’s taste, it is demolished to make way for a contemporary villa. In our sector, quiet building plots cost on average 800 € per sqm when they are near the beach, and around 650 € per sqm if they are 1 km from the shore. Then, the average cost of construction is close on 2,000 € per sqm. Some clients readily opt for this solution and thus visit properties solely for their location.” On account of its privileged setting and closeness to Biarritz, the Chiberta neighbourhood is thus a lively, multi-faceted market, indisputably endowed with very high potential.