Moliets and Vieux-Boucau, the charm of the southern part of the Landes

Less than 20 minutes from the A10 motorway connecting Spain and France, 30 minutes from the TGV station in Dax and 45 minutes from the Biarritz airport, Moliets-et-Maâ enjoys a real micro-climate. The tourist activity of Vieux-Boucau, 7.5 km away, got going in the 1930's and has intensified since the 1970’s.

Home to just under 1,000 people, Moliets boasts 6,950 acres of forests proposing an Adventure Park, a pond surrounded by running and cycling paths, hiking trails, and 5.5 km of sandy beaches, including Les Chênes-Lièges, the largest in Aquitaine. Nearby, the Nature Reserve of the Huchet river offers abut 1,542 acres of freshwater, marshes, pines, meadows and dunes. The golf-club with its 9- and 18-hole courses, voted the best in the region in 2005, is one of the top ten in France and the 25 loveliest in Europe. The Albret harbour tourist centre, which has developed around a marine lake of almost 150 acres, is right next to the village of Vieux-Boucau (1,630 residents) on the canton of Soustons, which belongs to the community of communes known as “Maremne Adours Côté Sud”. A flowery, pedestrian shopping mall connects these two complementary worlds. Whether they come for the lakes or prefer the very inv-igorating waves of the Atlantic Ocean, bathing enthusiasts can have the time of their life in total safety.

“The main difference between Vieux-Boucau and Moliets lies in their urban landscapes : the latter is more spread out, less concentrated in terms of housing, as wild as one could wish, while the former is more lively year round and possibly slightly more expensive,” explain Valérie Blanchemain and Christophe Bouilleveaux. In both cases, clients are families, fans of sports or nature-lovers. “70 % of our contacts, mostly French but also European, are looking for holiday homes,” add the managers of Bastide Immo. They pay 300,000 to 350,000 € for villas of 90 m2 with gardens of 800-900 m2 near the greens. Under their commercial leases, buyers agree to make them available for rent several weeks per year. When some of these contracts expire, these properties are also of interest to seniors from all over France, looking forward to retiring in the sun. Other buyers pay 130,000 to 160,000 € for small Pierre & Vacances apartments or pleasant duplexes, always keeping an eye on the concept of investment and rental income. Locals working within a 1-hour radius show an interest in the locality, which is 20 % cheaper than the Basque Country. As for people working in Dax, they are attracted by the coast, even if they have to pay a little more. Generally, these young couples can afford from 250,000 to 300,000 € for a 3-bedroom house with a garden of 700-1000 m2 without a pool. The market is doing relatively well, thanks in part to significantly lower prices and less stringent conditions for mortgages.

“One of the main assets of Vieux-Boucau is its layout : the fact that there’s no break between the “winter” village and the “summer” area is a real advantage, just like the dense entertainment programme organized by the Tourist Office,” says Philippe Lamarque of the Orpi Jean-Paul Bouquet agency. Out of every ten sales, he confirms that nine transactions are for holiday homes. 80 % of the buyers are French. The great South-West is, in fact, an excellent source of business. Since January 2010, our estate-agent mentions 7 new apartments and 16 old ones, with one to three main rooms, sold from 90,000 to 200,000 €, twelve houses sold at prices under 300,000 €, and 2 building plots, a scarce commodity pegged at around

230 €/m2. Among his most recent sales, he cites a 1-bedroom apartment of 41 m2, facing the lake in a residence with a pool, acquired by a Spanish client for 125,000 €, a patio villa of 78 m2 in excellent condition, opening out to a small garden, acquired by a retiree for 245,000 €, and a small 3-bedroom farmhouse, fully renovated, with a garden of 500 m2, snapped up by a couple from Toulouse for 265,000 €. “If we had to draw something positive from the crunch, it would be the end of inflated property prices and a clean-out of the market,” concludes Philippe Lamarque.