Is the dream of a house by the sea still accessible? According to a study unveiled exclusively to L’Express by the real estate valuation site Meilleurs Agents, housing prices on the French coasts have increased by an average of 35.1% in five years, against 25.4% on the rest of the territory. In some regions, this figure is exploding: the average cost per square meter on the Brittany coast now reaches 3,931 euros, an increase of 44.4% since 2018. Ditto for the Atlantic coast, where prices have jumped by 40.6 % over the same period. The Covid, its successive confinements and the infinite possibilities allowed by teleworking have obviously accentuated a phenomenon already observed by sociologists and geographers for several years: driven by their desire for elsewhere – and in particular that of beaches -, French city dwellers gradually invaded the coasts. And while many businesses are delighted with the arrival of this new clientele, whose purchasing power often exceeds that of the locals, some natives, the most disadvantaged, express their dismay.
Along the beaches where they grew up, the appearance of short-term accommodation, largely favored by platforms such as Airbnb, now prevents them from renting for the year. The explosion of prices by the sea no longer allows them access to property, and relegates them to ever smaller accommodation or inland. When winter comes, municipalities where the rate of second homes sometimes exceeds 80% turn into ghost villages.
Faced with the appearance of collectives anxious to denounce this housing crisis and the real estate tension which continues to rise in their cities, elected officials have tried to react. In Saint-Malo, quotas per district for the number of short-term accommodation have been put in place, while in the Basque Country, owners of second homes are now obliged to compensate by transforming non-habitable premises into residential accommodation. ‘year. Not sure that these measures will be enough to preserve the tranquility of the clear gulfs.