Saint-Jean-de-Luz, a market with lots of character
Radia Amar - 18 October 2013
A renowned seaside resort, Saint-Jean-de-Luz is also an authentic town with a rich past. Its stylish architecture, fishing harbour, six beaches and a town centre now totally pedestrian, all contribute to a very pleasant and highly-prized lifestyle.
Saint-Jean-de-Luz is above all else an atmosphere. A timeless atmosphere, with an elegant but relaxed lifestyle. Its rich heritage notably includes “Joanoeia”, the majestic home of the Spanish Infanta, the Basque Jean-Vier Eco-Museum and the historic residence of Louis XIV, where he married in 1660. This chic seaside resort also gives great importance to a very wide array of outdoor activities : golf, surfing (the town hosts the head-office of Quiksilver), fishing and a wealth of watersports and biking excursions - a new cycling trail links the fishing harbour to the Chantaco sports centre. Another sizeable asset : most of the shops in the centre are open on Sundays. Near Bayonne, Biarritz and the Basque countryside, Saint-Jean-de-Luz has one of the region’s most desirable property markets. Sheltered from the wind by its breakwaters, this bay in the Gulf of Gascony mainly focuses on tourism. Only 53 % of the local population own a home here.
“In Saint-Jean, buyers are looking above all for a pleasant lifestyle in which they can walk to shops and the beaches,” says Nicolas Descamps, manager of Côte Ouest Immobilier Christie’s Real Estate. The market seems to flow along smoothly. “In most cases, the prices posted reflect reality.” The most highly-prized neighbourhoods are the hyper-centre, Aïce Errota and Sainte-Barbe. Saint-Jean-de-Luz is also targetted by a few wealthy clients in search of outstanding residences. For them, there is micro-market of properties worth 2 to 5 million euros. Nicolas Descamps mentions, for instance, a property of 1,000 m2 in neo-Basque style, which includes a house for guardians and a tennis court, on offer at 4,935,000 €. Or a smart contemporary villa of 250 m2 with a pool and spa, situated in the countryside with a breathtaking view of the Pyrenees. As prices naturally drop as soon as one leaves the town centre, this little gem is proposed at 1,325,000 €.
The star property in Saint-Jean-de-Luz nevertheless remains “the apartment in the town centre, on an upper floor, with a lift and parking place”, says Pierre Deglaire, owner and director of the Coldwell Banker agencies in Biarritz and Saint-Jean-de-Luz, where he settled in 2009. “The law of supply and demand keeps prices at stable levels. An apartment in the centre ranges from 5,000 to 7,000 € per sq. metre, an average which can attain 12,000 € in the case of a front-row apartment with ocean view.” Even though Coldwell Banker has a multilingual staff, today’s clients are mostly French ; the current tax situation is not favourable for foreign investors. “Which has acted as a brake on the top end of the market.”
On the other hand, as soon as one leaves Saint-Jean-de-Luz, prices are clearly lower. Ramine Nouri, manager of the Agence Côte Basque Immobilier, based in the commune since 1987, sheds light on this strong tendency for the area around Saint-Jean : “The market is visibly split in two. First, the highly sought-after hyper-centre, and secondly, the surrounding area, where properties, even of high quality, find it much harder to find takers. We have seen a decline of 12 to 15 % over the past two years. Despite the number of visits, properties outside the town have a rather low rate of response, whereas for an apartment right in the centre with a sea view, we have on average 20 potential purchasers per property !”. By way of example : an apartment of 127 m2 to renovate with an independent studio and parking place, which just sold for 1,320,000 €, ie. over 10,400 € per sq. metre. “This type of property is a blue-chip investment which can be relied on over the long term.”
And what about buyer profiles ? Senior executives aged from 45 to 60, mostly French, looking for a second residence with the potential to become their main home when they retire. Most of the time, buyers know the Basque country very well. They have childhood or holiday memories here, and know exactly what they are looking for.