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Since confinement, the Atlantic coast has been the victim of a sometimes cumbersome success. The real estate market is at record highs. Several elected officials and residents wonder about these empty second homes for most of the year, while the local population is unable to find housing.
In the Basque Country, housing is snapped up at exorbitant prices, and residences and short-term rentals are on the rise. For the inhabitants, housing is becoming more and more difficult. For several months, the Basques have been mobilizing to say no to real estate speculation. That day, they were indignant at the sale of a house in Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), bought for 730,000 euros, then put back on sale a few days later for 1.2 million euros. . Sylvain Rabbé, a resident, decided to alert the local media and associations. Faced with the outcry, the house was taken off the market.
The real estate agent who put it up for sale believes that his estimate is legitimate. The explosion in property prices has been accentuated by the health crisis: + 30% minimum increase on the entire coast, where it is becoming difficult to find accommodation. Sylvain Rabbé’s neighbor has been renting his house for two years. Despite two salaries in his home, he can not come owner. “We did a lot of research, a lot of visitors. But afterwards, these are exorbitant sums”, says Thomas Castagnet. To access the property, others had to resolve to leave their ties, despite the family and professional consequences. The coastal towns are gradually emptying of their inhabitants. Guétary (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) is particularly affected. Here, 50% of the accommodations are second homes.