A quality life-style in the northern part of the Landes

Ocean, lakes and forests… A trio that certainly comes up trumps ! As borne out by the popularity of Biscarrosse, Sanguinet, Parentis-en-Born and Ychoux. Generally less expensive than the Bassin d’Arcachon or towns in the Urban Community of Bordeaux, they offer a high-quality environment and pleasant way of life…

Since 1930, Biscarrosse has been a well-known centre for aviation. The Aeroclub des Grands Lacs in fact offers training courses and first flights. Past-master in the art of concocting “la garbure”, a famous meat and vegetable soup, the town boasts monuments many centuries old, such as the Château de Montbron, dating back to the 12th century, and the 16th-century Church of Saint Martin. The most densely populated locality in the Pays de Born, Biscarosse also ranks third for the Landes, with 12,355 inhabitants. Lying between the lakes of Cazaux and Parentis, it is made up of three distinct sectors : the town, beach and residential areas around the lake. Two-thirds of this seaside resort are covered by forest. It has a branch of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and hosts the DGA missile test centre, though its economy also relies on the tourist industry. Sanguinet, with 3,100 residents, stands at the gateway to the Bassin d’Arcachon. Crossed by the river La Gourgue, it has a good number of fans. The Lac de Parentis, covering 8,262 acres, is the second largest in the “département”. The town with 5,175 residents is a 20-minute drive from the Atlantic, 30 minutes from La Teste-de-Buch, an hour from Bordeaux and Mont-de-Marsan. The forest is a real financial boon, and the cultivation of blueberries is widespread. At a time when well-being is on everyone’s list of priorities, it is fitting to recall a remark made by Saint-Exupéry : “One day, I went to Parentis, with Guillaumet. I’d never seen so many bees buzzing around the flowers and heather, and I thought : this is a village where life flows along like honey”. One of the main assets offered by Ychoux, home to 1,800 people, is its proximity to the Lac des Forges, known for its carp. This pleasant domain is a magnet for hikers and cyclists. The 143-acre activity zone, focusing on food production, provides 300 jobs.

“The northern part of the Landes has real potential for development precisely because it offers an alternative to the Bassin d’Arcachon, a 15- to 20-minute drive away, and the Urban Community of Bordeaux, 30-45 minutes away,” says Arnaud Crespi of Foncia Gosselin. It draws three types of buyers in equal shares. French pensioners, capable of paying 300,000 to 500,000 € for a modernized home of of 130 m2 with grounds of at least 1,000 m2 and a swimming pool, in Biscarrosse, who frequently pay cash and are only too happy to leave the big cities for this corner of paradise. People working locally, often first-time buyers, pay from 150,000 to 250,000 €. They hesitate between a building plot costing 80-180 €/m2 depending on the commune, and an apartment, priced between 1,300 and 1,600 €/m2. As for purchasers of second homes, French, Dutch, Swiss or Belgian, they fall into the widest price range, from 80,000 € for a 1-bedroom apartment to 1 million euros for a luxury villa. The latter offering living space of 200-300 m2 in grounds of 2,000-2,500 m2, near a golf-course, lake or forest. The new legislation on capital gains has not led to a massive influx of properties on the market. Its only real consequence has been price adjustments for properties already offered for sale. Activity is holding relatively steady, though one can begin to see the first signs of a slowdown.

“Biscarrosse is a visiting card, which explains why some clients insist on that address,” add Véronique Etchegoyen, Nicolas Mirtin and Jean-François Fayard of the Square Habitat agency. A distinction should, however, be drawn between the village, lively year-round, and the beach, dormant through the long winter months, despite efforts to promote tourism twelve months a year. Sanguinet meets with similar success : hit by scarce offerings, it posts much the same prices. The most modest house of 100-120 m2 opening out to a garden of 800-1,000 m2 costs between 250,000 and 300,000 €. Here, people working around the Bassin d’Arcachon benefit from more attractive accommodation and a lower cost of living. Awaiting the new PLU, Parentis is the preferred fall-back market among buyers who can’t find what they want in Biscarrosse. The average budget currently ranges from 230,000 to 250,000 € - which happens to correspond to the good old example of 120 m2 with a garden of 800-1000 m2. Clients are not exactly standing in line, but the rate of completed transactions is satisfactory. The share represented by holiday homes, a rather lackluster segment up until now, is even rising. The parties concerned appreciate the village life and the events organized, including the Feria. Finally, Ychoux attracts military personnel based in Cazaux or Biscarrosse, ready to invest 180,000-200,000 € in their homes. The village benefits from a train station and the Bordeaux-Bayonne motorway, not to mention shops and on-site healthcare professionals. Of the four addresses, Ychoux is the most affordable.