“Since October, we have seen a slight slowdown in home searches, as always in the fall, allowing for stocks to be somewhat rebuilt. If it continues, we may begin to hope for a gradual return to a balance between demand and supply”.
Biarritz, heading towards more stability
Radia Amar - 01 December 2022
The birthplace of surfing in Europe, Biarritz remains the most prestigious seaside resort on the Atlantic coast. With its thalassotherapy centres, golf-courses, 5-star “Palais”, and remarkable architectural heritage, the town continues to inspire the dreams of many French and foreign buyers, including a rising number of the actively employed, making Biarritz their year-round residence.
“I do not know of a more charming and more magnificent place than Biarritz,” wrote Victor Hugo, on the subject of a small seaside town built on a series of hills running along the French Basque coast. Well before the fashion for surfing, Biarritz was known as “the queen of beaches and the beach of kings”, visited, among others, by Napoleeon III who married Empress Eugénie here in 1853, hence the name of the “Impérial” neighbourhood. Served by the A63 motorway, a TGV station and the Biarritz-Anglet-Bayonne Airport, the commune can claim a legacy of real charm that includes many buildings in Art Deco style and neo-Basque villas.
At its heart, lovely shopping neighbourhoods, such as that of Les Halles, draw an active clientele in search of an apartment or house, a stone’s throw from amenities, good restaurants, trendy bars etc. Unsurprisingly, Biarritz thus has an extremely buoyant property market with prices justified by some of the most highly-prized addresses in France. Following two years embodying post-Covid enthusiasm, offerings which had shrunk dramatically seem to be on a gradual rise, faced by slightly lower demand. Buyers must nevertheless be patient, especially if targetting the oceanfront or town centre, and requiring an outdoor area and parking facilities : the ultimate “trigger” that can make a property’s price soar - by 50,000 to 100,000 € more. Specializing in sales in all sectors, Daniel Iribarren has run the BTZ Immobilier agency for about 20 years, mainly covering Biarritz intra-muros, with extensions to Anglet and as far as Chiberta, Bidart and as far as Ilbarritz.
“The mood is still lively,” he explains.
As for prices, after a spell of euphoria, it seems that only prime locations with no nuisances can post off-market asking prices. Such as an impeccable studio prolonged by a terrace on the front row. Accompanied by its parking place, it was just sold by BTZ Immobilier for slightly over 500,000 €.
says Daniel Iribarren.
“The oceanfront, Beau Rivage neighbourhood, Place Clémenceau... These addresses still post very high prices : beyond 15,000 € per sq.m for the most exceptional properties. If a “complete” property (ie. benefiting from an outdoor area and parking place) comes up for sale here, it has a good chance of finding a taker immediately at its asking price : serious clients are highly reactive. On the other hand, some properties in less sought-after areas may now post lower prices, if they had been proposed at delusional prices six months ago,”