Nearly a hundred people gathered this Saturday, February 19, 2022, in Bascassan, to protest against the rise in real estate prices in the Hergarai valley.. Some residents show two houses, near the meeting place. “_The prices of these houses have been estimated at 500,000 and 630,000 euros_s”, breathes Yvette, in her sixties.
The fear of the same phenomenon as on the coast
Yvette does not live in the area, but is looking for a house, to be closer to her family. “I spend all my weekends and vacations there. But the problem is that I have a lot of trouble finding, given the prices, and since I am the only one to finance the purchase of a house“, deplores the sexagenarian. According to a group of inhabitants of the valley, the price per square meter would have jumped by 30%, an average around 2,000 euros. So even if the prices are much lower than in Biarritz, Guéthary or Ciboure, they are becoming more and more prohibitive for those who want to buy.”For me it was something that wouldn’t happen here“, believes Odei, a teacher.
“I was ready to spend 300,000 euros to buy a house, but that’s not possible. I’m not ready to go into debt for life“, concedes Matthew.
Among those who have stopped looking, there is Mathieu. He pays rent of 800 euros per month, and had been tempted to buy a house near Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. But given the prices that have been increasing for years, he gave up.. “It’s unthinkable to have such a high credit at almost 40 years old. It is betting on the fact of not being able to repay it during his lifetime.“Like many inhabitants of the valley, he believes that this increase is due to real estate speculation which is hitting the Basque coast with full force. A word which is written in large letters, glued to a pediment, in Basque. “Espekulazioar ez“. A scary speculation: “Everyone is forced to go inland, but the interior, because of this speculation, becomes too expensive“, continues Yvette.
– Cedric Hermel
The fear of seeing the youngest leave the Hergarai valley
“We come to support the youngest, future generations, with these kids running all around us. If this continues, they won’t be able to stay here“, say three inhabitants of the valley. “Villages are starting to empty out, young people can no longer buy or build, adds Odei, a teacher. Some come to say to themselves: where are we going to have to go? Or if not, in what conditions it will be necessary to live to have decent housing.
The other related issue is succession in the case of family farms. “Someone who wants to succeed his parents must pay more as the price of surrounding houses increases“, continues the young woman. She and the collective of which she is a member call on the State to curb the rise in prices in the region.