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The Basque Country attracts many tourists every year. Since Covid-19, the number of second homes has also increased. The price per square meter has increased significantly, and some residents can no longer find housing.
Between its surfers and its two-tone houses, Biarritz (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) offers a postcard landscape that many tourists dream of. Along the coast, there are many second homes, whose shutters are often closed out of season. Residents are struggling to find housing. Corinne Mallet has been renting a 30 m2 apartment for six years, for 500 euros per month. She will have to free it before the end of the year, because its owner wants to sell the apartment: 400,000 euros, twice as much as 10 years ago.
“It seems huge to me, it’s not possible. I can’t even dream of that”, entrusts the auxiliary of life. Difficult for her to find a solution in a saturated real estate market. Since the deconfinement, prices have increased by 15 to 20% in the region. So some cities are stepping up. Richard Irazusta, Housing Assistant for the city of Hendaye (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), had the idea two years ago of pre-empting land to build HLM housing there. His initiative makes it possible to offer 27 apartments at reduced prices because the owners own the accommodation, but not the land.