Charming properties in Saint-Jean-de-Luz
Radia Amar - 20 January 2015
International renown, stylish architecture and a seaside life-style with six beaches, a fishing harbour and a town centre now fully pedestrian, Saint-Jean-de-Luz is a flagship address on the Basque Coast, where exceptional properties are putting up good resistance to the crisis.
At the edge of the Atlantic Ocean between Biarritz and the Spanish border, Saint-Jean-de-Luz is a charming fishing village. Running along sandy beaches, the commune also plays host to the Ducontenia park, an oasis of greenery of 33,000 m2. Thanks to the nature surrounding the commune, two golf-courses have been created : that of Chantaco and the Golf de la Nivelle. This little bay within the Bay of Biscay now focuses mainly on tourism, though more than half of its residents now live here year-round. A trend which is being confirmed with the arrival of new retirees from Paris, Bordeaux and Toulouse, drawn by the charms of a commune which has succeeded in boosting its town centre, now lively in all four seasons.
“The neighbourhoods of Le Lac, Sainte-Barbe and Aïce Errota, a short walk from the centre, are sought-after adresses where property acquisitions are seen as safe-haven investments, especially when the going gets tough,” says Benoit Verdet of the Emile Garcin agency, specializing in high-end homes and operating for the past 15 years on the Basque Coast. The commune’s urban and seaside neighbourhoods comprise a steady market with prices still rising due to self-evident scarcity : family residences here stay in the hands of the same owners for many years. Less popular, the periphery is seeing a decline in prices of around 10 to 20 %, as buyers are mainly new retirees, the majority wanting to live permanently in Saint-Jean-de-Luz. An address from which one can walk everywhere has thus become one of the most important criteria. These clients appreciate houses in classic neo-Basque style with contemporary interior appointments. “A villa of 250 m2 in good condition with a garden, not suffering from any real nuisances and allowing for a pedestrian life-style costs from 1,500,000 €,” explains our expert. “The most enviable examples on the front row bear price-tags from 5 to 10 million euros, those further back but still enjoying a glimpse of the ocean, from 2 to 3.5 million euros.” Also in demand from this clientele, apartments can be split into two categories. “In Saint-Jean-de-Luz, it’s impossible to meet the high demand for apartments benefitting from garages in the basement, terraces and lifts, as the town centre consists of residences built prior to the democratization of these types of facilities. Whence the success of residences on Boulevard Thiers, where prices are around 10,000 € per sq. metre,” adds the director of the Emile Garcin agency.
Property markets in nearby areas also offer high-end homes, but at prices which have become more reasonable. In immediate proximity to the Chantaco golf-course, for instance, lovely villas on well-preserved gated estates are looked upon as prestigious holiday homes. “These houses within walking distance of the greens naturally appeal to fans of the little white ball,” says Ramine Nouri, manager of Côte Basque Immobilier, an agency based on the commune since 1987. He mentions, for example, a recent villa of 200 m2 enthroned in flat grounds of 2,500 m2 facing full south. Comprising 3 bedrooms, a good-sized study and very spacious terraces, it is up for sale at 1,350,000 €. Another area proposing properties of real charm, the Bay of Socoa, shared between Saint-Jean-de-Luz and Ciboure, also provides a seaside life-style. Here, properties of generous size accommodating large families during holiday periods can be acquired at prices much lower than those posted in the centre of Saint-Jean-de-Luz. By way of example : a house of 168 m2, recently renovated and extended, close to the beach, with 5 bedrooms (one on the ground-floor), priced at 1 million euros.