At the heart of the Landes of Gascony and the Pays de Buch, this seaside resort underwent tremendous growth in the first half of the 19th century thanks, in part, to the introduction of the Bordeaux-La Teste railway line. Some 200 years later, it is just as popular.

In 1823, the Breton sailor François Legallais inaugurated a sea-bathing establishment intended for a well-heeled clientele. Hardly three decades later, Arcachon won its independence and treated itself to its very visionary motto, “Yesterday a desert, today a village, tomorrow a town”… Its facilities included thalassotherapy and thermal spa treatments until the Pereire brothers, determined to promote the summer season, founded the “Ville d'Hiver” (Winter Town). The casino was built on the beach, preceding the Moorish (or forest) casino, destroyed in a fire in 1977. In constant progression, the agglomeration formed by La Teste-de-Buch, Gujan-Mestras and Le Teich has 60,150 inhabitants, including 11,700 in Arcachon itself. The culture of oysters, tourism and, to a lesser extent, stationery are its main sources of income. Visitor s appreciate the cycling paths, huts on stilts, the Ile aux Oiseaux and the yacht harbour, the second largest on the Atlantic coast. “The “Ville d’Eté” is comprised of the hyper-centre and seafront. L’Aiguillon and Saint-Ferdinand, ie. the bustling port area, make up the “Ville d’Automne”. The “Ville de Printemps” includes Pereire, in other words, the beach, and Les Abatilles, home to traditional houses and the famous mineral-water spring of Saint-Anne-des-Abatilles drawn from a depth of 472 metres. As for the “Ville d’Hiver”, composed of the historic heart of town and the classified perimeter of the Parc Mauresque, it boasts elegant buildings dating back to the 19th century,” explains Nathalie Foulon of the Agence Carnot Immobilier, founded in 1967. “More recent, Le Moulleau accommodates fashionable boutiques and trendy nightclubs,” adds the President of the “Syndicat des Agents Immobiliers de la Chambre d’Arcachon”. Each address thus has its own specific features and individual charm. The vast majority of purchasers are looking for holiday homes. 5 % are foreigners, the rest live less than four hours away by car or train. This characteristic is fully in line with the town's policy, aiming to develop tourism in all four seasons. The peaceful environment, security and quality of life are the resort’s key assets. Studios cost from 100,000 to 130,000 € 1-bedroom apartments 180,000 to 220,000 €, houses start at 350,000 €. One seller is asking 370,000 €, for example, for a pleasant “pavillon” of 70 m2 opening out to a small garden. Seafront properties bear price-tags of around 10,000 €/m2 but never attain the levels of their counterparts at Cap Ferret. Most occasional residents invest from 270,000 to 500,000 €. Locals are often forced to fall back on other communes, especially if they want a comfortable villa. Those who remain generally benefit from the sale of property, as do retirees who sell their homes for a more functional apartment. The market is certainly much more sluggish than in the past, but a collapse is definitely not on the agenda. Prices written into sales deeds are at most 10 % below their former levels, showing good resilience.

“However, the time it takes to sell is getting longer. Buyers arrive in conquered territory with bold proposals, routinely refused by sellers who always anticipate a margin for negotiation that can approach 20 %,” says Marianne Leude, manageress of La Bourse de l’Immobilier on Avenue Gambetta. This phenomenon is a natural consequence of the financial crisis. In the holiday home sector, Cap Ferret could compete with Arcachon, except that the latter is lively year round. If patrimonial value is in no doubt, profitability would appear to be relatively low, echoed, in fact, by the proportion of investors on the market. With the turn of this century, infrastructures have improved significantly under pressure from the population. Schools go up to secondary level. The community, which is continuing its embellishment, offers shops, a clinic and a hospital. Among those on the move, Clémence Hofman of Era Immobilier Arcachon points to those in their forties, looking for 1-bedroom apartments, and young seniors who have just retired or are about to do so, interested in apartments from 50 to 90 m2 in small, recent residences with terraces and parking facilities, close to shops, the beach and railway station, especially as, ultimately, the train will become their means of transport. They intend to stay five to six months on site, not hesitating to exploit their property as a seasonal rental the rest of the year. For these two groups, representing 75 % of Clémence Hofman’s customer portfolio, the possib-ility of doing everything on foot is a luxury and apartments a practical solution. Paris and Bordeaux are excellent providers of potential buyers. In the intermediate price range, houses seem to be of less interest than apartments. The prestige segment begins at 850,000 €, the amount required for a villa of 240 m2 in Le Pyla in wooded grounds of 950 m2 with a pool but no particular view. A seafront property of 250 m2 in satisfactory condition with a garden of 350 m2 is pegged at 1,480,000 €. Another just 200 metres from the sea offering living space of 270 m2 in grounds of 1,200 m2 is available at around 1,790,000 €. As yet, this sector of the market is only making a tentative comeback.