Living year-round in Biarritz

When you think of Biarritz, you think holiday homes. Yet the iconic capital of the Basque country draws many retirees and people still working, who decide to live there year-round. A trend now well-established.

Not far from the Spanish border, Biarritz runs along the Atlantic Ocean on the Basque Coast. Reached via the A63 motorway, a TGV station and the Biarritz-Anglet-Bayonne airport, this seaside resort, a surfing centre of worldwide renown, has seen many families with comfortable financial resources acquire holiday homes here, ever since the 19th century. An address known for its elegance and enviable art of living, Biarritz enjoys stable property prices due to steady demand and housing which cannot be extended, creating desire and requiring patience, especially in the town centre and the most highly-prized residential areas. Of the 27,000 residents on the commune, more than half now live here all year round.

“We are seeing rising demand for year-round homes, to the extent that our sales are tending to be balanced out evenly between main and second residences,” says Charlotte Morgana of Barnes. “Since the end of the summer, we have registered 13 commitments to sell. Half of them concern buyers moving here on a permanent basis.” And who are these clients ? “They have different profiles. Firstly, those already living in Biarritz who, especially when their children leave home, are looking for smaller properties while maintaining high-end living conditions. They are joined by a new clientele, that of ex-pats wanting to acquire an address in Biarritz. Their search criteria are different ; they are not necessarily tempted by being near the sea, or villas with pools, they prefer apartments right in the centre with parking places, but everything within walking distance.” Even though in Biarritz the choice is there in the Saint-Charles neighbourhood or Les Halles, this type of property is rarely available and one needs a budget of at least 800,000 € to set one’s sights on an impeccable 2-bedroomed apartment right in the centre. If a sea view is also on the cards, the price will be around 1 million euros.

At Coldwell Banker, year-round homes - or those destined to become so - also account for half of the sales completed this year. “Clients are mainly French, from Paris, Toulouse, Pau or Bordeaux, looking forward to retirement ; as well as ex-pats returning soon to France, and generally benefitting from comfortable budgets,” explains agency manager Pierre Deglaire. Ideally, these buyers are looking for houses in or near the centre, with gardens and pools. When they can’t find them, they fall back on select apartments, not far from the sea and centre, with outdoor areas : a terrace or small garden. The budgets seen most frequently this year range from 600,000 to 900,000 € for apartments of quality, 1 to 1.2 million euros for prestigious properties with ocean views or on the front row. The market for villas starts at 900,000 €. Many are they, with bud­gets of 1.5 to 2 million euros, who wait for rare pearls to become available. “On average, an impeccable property in Biarritz now sells within 5 to 9 months if its price has been fairly estimated,” says Pierre Deglaire.

At Carré Ouest Immobilier, some very fine properties are also destined to become year-round homes. Such as a contemporary villa of 200 m2 in grounds of 1,000 m2 in Anglet, which has just been acquired by a future retiree from Paris. “To make his dream come true, he spent 1,100,000 €,” confides Olivier Hourcade, manager of the Mer et Montagnes and Carré Ouest Immobilier agencies in Biarritz. A price, according to our expert, which is representative of the market for this type of property. “Most of our clients looking for year-round homes are members of the local working population, often self-employed professionals such as doctors or dentists. They are looking for larger properties with refined appointments, ideally in the centre of Biarritz, Le Parc d’Hiver or the Espagne neighbourhood. Their budgets are often around 900,000 €, whereas the properties meeting their criteria are pegged at around 1 million. A gap which gives rise to serious bargaining”, and which sometimes acts as a brake on this segment of the market. Nevertheless, as Biarritz is an address synonymous with sound investments, a high-quality property sells on average in less than six months.

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