France is going through a housing crisis and, for coastal towns, it is increasingly complicated for residents. Prices are exploding, pushing the most modest to pack up. In this city, houses have increased by 50% in just a few years!
We know that Covid has given French people who live in very dense urban areas a desire for elsewhere. And if some chose the countryside, many others preferred the sea option. With the advent of teleworking, thousands of employees can now live far from their office. And for coastal towns, this means a massive influx of workers with high incomes and skyrocketing prices per m². The big losers? Less well-off locals who can no longer buy and even have difficulty finding accommodation to rent…
As revealed in a recent study by the site specializing in real estate, Top Agents, 8 towns on the Atlantic coast have thus suffered significant increases in house prices between 2019 and 2024. Everyone dreams of being closer to the sea or the ocean and we might as well tell you that a view of the waves from their window or balcony, it is expensive. But where do the French arrive en masse to treat themselves to the smell of sea winds? On the podium, we find in 3rd place the town of Larmor-Plage (Morbihan, Brittany region) with an increase noted in house prices of +43%.
In second position in this special Atlantic coast ranking, we find the pretty little town of Royan (Charente-Maritime, Nouvelle-Aquitaine region), with an increase in house prices of +46%. But then who gets the gold medal for the biggest price increase in the last 5 years?
If we say surfing, Virgin Rock, casino or even lighthouse, does that mean something to you? This is the town of Biarritz (Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Nouvelle-Aquitaine region). According to the site’s study, the rise in house prices is soaring with +50% on the clock! The average selling price of houses currently on the market in Biarritz is 7,710 euros per square meter according to Efficiency. Among the most expensive corners of the city, two stand out: the properties located on the Pointe de Biarritz side and those on the Plateau de l’Atalaye.
The site specifies two important pieces of information about the local real estate market since we learn that the best month to sell real estate is December and the best month to buy is March. Despite everything, between the work linked to the DPE, the housing shortage, the very high borrowing rates and the banks which still refuse a ton of loan applications, buying remains an obstacle course in 2024.
