Luxury in Biarritz
An iconic address and a highly-prized port-of-call, the town of Biarritz has preserved a luxurious middle-class architectural heritage comprised of numerous Art Deco buildings and elegant residences on the seafront. Spotlight on a privileged and active property market which makes light of the economic crisis.
Surfing, golf, nature, the ocean… The Basque coast, and Biarritz in particular, appeal for their fine art of living. Biarritz is characterized by discreet luxury, perfectly in tune with its residents’ mentality. An authentic region where luxury avoids sparkle and glitz, as explained by Patricia Biondi, manageress of the Sotheby’s agency in Biarritz : “Luxury here means quality living conditions and a certain serenity. The ocean has a real identity, it plays the star role and endows houses and apartments with all their value. Biarritz has retained its elegant atmosphere, but has never been showy, and above all, it has not been over-built. Nature reigns supreme, you only have to drive for ten minutes from the centre of Biarritz to find fields as far as the eye can see. Then there is a friendly and sporty life-style appreciated and sought after by many Frenchmen. You rediscover a sense of tradition, a healthy, simple way of life, rather timeless. Nature, sport, sharing and the family are essential fall-back values which are upheld here, even in the real-estate sector, with family homes kept by children and handed over to grand-children. Sentimental values which cannot be evaluated in euros and which give a narrow market with a low stock, and desirable properties which sell very quickly.”
With few offerings and rising demand, Biarritz has always had the wind in its sails. Its property market has not been affected by the crisis, no price declines have been resigistered because, according to Pierre Deglaire, director and founder of the Coldwell Banker DP&P Consulting agency : “The level of rotation is very low in the region. In other regions of France, a property re-sells every 7 to 10 years. Here the average is 20 years ! Statistically, as turnover is very low, if you miss a property here, you’re going to wait many long years before seeing it back on the market. In other words, it’s probably lost forever. People are very attached to their homes, so not many properties are for sale and the stock is quickly absorbed. On the other hand, luxury resists much better on the Basque Coast than on the Côte d’Azur, where the market is dominated by foreign buyers. Furthermore, few new luxury developments are being built in Biarritz, giving rise to a self-evident lack of accommodation. Biarritz is one of the rare towns to have seen its population figures drop by 15% ; its inhabitants have turned to Bayonne or Anglet in order to acquire a home. Building land is “frozen” in Biarritz and perfectly controlled, a policy which acts as a boost in terms of maintaining prices. It protects Biarritz and allows the town to retain vast pockets of natural greenery, giving the rare feeling of living as close as possible to nature”.
Luxury in Biarritz is indeed the ocean, and prestigious apartments and villas offering beautiful sea views are very highly prized. Those near the beaches are just as sought after. From the coast to the town centre, several neighbourhoods play host to enviable properties : “The finest apartments are on the coast in Biarritz, from the lighthouse to the neighbourhood of Ilbarritz, very close to the ocean,” explain Didier Lepinoux and Pierre Laplace of the Bliss & Foch agency. “Fans of old buildings head more for the town centre, in the Saint Charles neighbourhood, where you find apartments in Napoleon III style, with lovely high ceilings, large living-rooms and a sea view, but rarely a terrace. For apartments with terraces, you have to set your sights on more modern residences built in the 1970’s and 1980’s, such as Le Miramar next to the Hôtel du Palais, proposing luxury apartments on the top floors with terraces, views of the ocean and parking facilities. More trendy, the neighbourhood of Les Halles, frowned upon for many years, has taken off thanks to the renovation of Les Halles giving the area a new lease of life. Lively and full of shops, everything here can done on foot. As for houses, the most beautiful properties are to be found around the Biarritz golf-course, but also in the town where houses built in the 1900’s propose very elegant architecture.”
The luxury property market on the Basque Coast does not seem to concern the locals very much, except perhaps for retirees. Parisians, French ex-pats living abroad, English and Spanish clients are the main buyers of both year-round and holiday homes. As revealed by Philippe Thomine Desmazures, director and partner of the Barnes agency : “About 90% of the clientele for prestige properties are aged over 60, and mainly French. Foreign clients are younger, 45 on average, but they only account for a small percentage of buyers, about 20%, with the French comprising the vast majority. In no way does the so-called luxury market in Biarritz claim the same characteristics and prices as those seen on the Côte d’Azur or in Paris. Less than ten houses sell per year at prices over 3 million euros : such transactions are rare. Here, the prestige market encompasses properties priced on average from 1.5 to 2 million euros. Luxury is not necessarily a matter of price in this region, but rather a matter of the geographic location and quality living conditions. If the property market in Biarritz is stable, it’s because it never experienced soaring prices in the years 2000. In Biarritz, clients do not pay over the odds, not even for a house in a prime location”.
