Arcachon : tailormade excellence

Radia Amar - 11 July 2025

Founded in 1936 in Arcachon, the independent Agence CAP was taken over in the 1990’s by Philippe Gatignol. Focusing on real estate transactions and trusteeship for co-owned properties, it has chosen to concentrate its expertise on a limited but strategic area : the southern part of Arcachon, Le Moulleau, Les Abatilles, Péreire, and Le Pyla-sur-Mer.

Forming part of the sales department, Alexis Gatignol joined the family structure four years ago. “The agency’s long lifetime joined by the professionalism always demonstrated by my father, and which he passed on to me, endows our agency with a reassuring image and inspires confidence in a particularly prized market,” he explains. “Our privileged location at the heart of Le Moulleau, close to well-known shops and a recently renovated hotel, is also an undeniable asset.” Thanks to the trusteeship activity handled by Philippe Gatignol, the agency benefits from a portfolio with a good balance between houses and apartments. It proposes a diverse selection destined for a national clientele from many regions in France, but also international, especially from Switerland, Belgium and Luxembourg.

“We are seeing two main types of searches carried out today. Firstly, buyers with budgets ranging from 700,000 € to 1.5 million euros, looking for properties from 100 to 200 m2 to renovate, with gardens of 400 to 1,200 m2. Then the upper end of the market, with budgets from 2.5 tot3.5 million euros, where demand focuses on impeccable appointments, high-quality renovation, and prime locations. A view of Le Bassin, the dune of Le Pilat or the forest naturally influences our estimates. The centre of Le Moulleau in fact remains highly sought-after.”

By way of exemple, Alexis Gatignol mentions the sale of a Basco¬-Landaise house of 110 m2 in need of renovation, with a garden of over 600 m2. Its charm and its location within walking distance of shops and the beach led to a sale being agreed at a price between 1 and 1.3 million euros, in just one week. Once fully renovated, this property could rise in value to attain 2.2 to 2.5 million euros. The Agence CAP in fact assists its clients with their plans for renovation thanks to a local network of qualified and rigorously selected professionals.

“We do not simply put our clients in touch with them : we pursue active follow-up of the work in hand, if necessary, provide reception for parcels at the agency... Service lies at the core of our approach. We remain present at each stage in the installation.”

And what about the market ? “There are really no rules any more. Each property is the subject of a tailormade estimate, and the notion of seasonality is tending to disappear,” says Alexis Gatignol, adding that he has concluded some of his best sales in the off season. “Clients who make their way to Arcachon outside the summer season are generally determi¬ned to carry their projects through.”