Lots of opportunities in Hendaye

In the Pyrénées Atlantiques at the gateway to Spain, Hendaye is 30 minutes from Bayonne and 15 minutes from Saint-Sebastien. Home to 15,000 residents, the commune can be split into three sectors : the centre, the hills, and its 3.5-km beach, the longest on the Basque Coast.

Opening out to the Atlantic Ocean and benefitting from a charming sailing harbour, Hendaye is not far from the A63 Bordeaux-Madrid motorway, and the Biarritz and Fontarable airports. It is renowned for its glorious past, to which some flamboyant early 20th-C. residences still testify today. This seaside resort has a unique property market which is almost entirely “transfrontalier”. Many French and Spanish buyers acquire a pied-à-terre here in which to spend pleasant family holidays. Since the financial crisis which hit Spanish households very dramatically while also having an effect on French budgets, the market in Hendaye has seen a constant decline with many prop­erties up for sale : 80 % of them are currently said to be offered by Spanish owners, often in a hurry.

“Within the past 7 years, some apartments have lost up to 50 % of their value,” says Stanislas de Roumefort of the Agence Côte Ouest, affiliated to Christie’s. “Today, there are many properties for sale, most of them priced from 2,900 to 3,100 € per sq. metre.” Some present real opportunities for investors in search of extraordinary prop­erties. On offer somewhere between 5 and 6 million euros, a majestic 15th-C. citadel serves as an example of the rare kind of property dreamt about by certain wealthy clients all over the world. “Perched on a rocky spur, this citadel of 3,000 m2 surveys the bay of Hendaye at the mouth of La Bisassoa. Consisting of two buildings and a square courtyard, it has all the charm of historic buildings : vast vaulted rooms with tall windows, interconnected buildings, well-preserved original features, numerous development pos­sibilities…” comments Stanislas de Roumefort. Such a prop­erty could be transformed into a sublime master residence, an hotel or art centre… “The sale of an historic building like this could have real repercussions on the local economy.”

Based on the commune for over 20 years, the Carmen Immobilier group has four agencies here, the last inaugur­ated last January. “We started off with high prices which have become reasonable and now correspond to the budgets of many French buyers. Lots of properties, mainly apartments, are available at appealing prices. Pied-à-terre such as studios can be found from 70,000 €.” says Vanessa Gorrochategui, in charge of the area. Potential clients are almost all French. From Pau, Bordeaux and the Parisian region, they are looking for pleasant apartments which will become their main homes when they retire. “The Sokoburu area near the Serge Blanco thalassotherapy centre is pop­ular for the charm of its typical façades and lively streets, especially with its Saturday street market. Depending on their characteristics and living space, 2-bedroomed apartments here sell from 150,000 to 300,000 €.”

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