MAP: See where has benefited most from France’s coastal property boom

There has been an unprecedented boom in the price of properties located along France’s coastlines, a report by the official network of notaires shows.

It states that between the last quarters of 2020 and 2021, the median price for non-new flats in coastal areas rose by 8%. This is double the annual increases that have been reported since 2016.

Meanwhile, the median price of non-new houses rose by 16% in the same time frame, up from the usual rates of between 4% to 7% that have been recorded since 2016.

The notaires’ data is the fullest property information available as it takes into account all property sales and pre-sales that occur in France, rather than data from individual estate agents.

It takes several months to compile, hence why the latest one showing last year’s fourth quarter has only recently been published.

The price of non-new builds all across France increased between the end of 2020 and 2021, with non-new houses going up 9.1%, while non-new flats went up 4.6%.

Although these are big increases, they are far lower than the price increases reported specifically in coastal areas.

The notaires’ report specifically states that 2021 was “notable for the magnitude of the price hikes in the vast majority of coastal towns studied”.

There are several examples of this.

In Biscarrosse in the department of Landes (Nouvelle-Aquitaine), the median price of a non-new house was €374,500 at the end of 2021, up 26.9% compared to the end of 2020.

In La Baule-Escoublac in the department of Loire-Atlantique (Pays de la Loire), the median price of a non-new house was €565,000 by the end of 2021, up 20.8% in one year.

In Saint-Raphaël in the department of Var (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur), the median house price was €588,800 at the end of 2021, up 12.9% in one year.

The price increases are likely linked to people looking to escape big cities during the Covid pandemic, as well as having more flexibility in terms of location with work-from-home becoming more popular.

The only exceptions to these price hikes were in La Ciotat (Bouches-du-Rhône), Boulogne-sur-Mer (Pas-de-Calais), Brignogan-Plages (Finistère) and Bastia (Haute-Corse), where there were very slight decreases in the prices of either houses or flats.

Our map below shows the median property prices in 33 coastal towns and cities as of the end of 2021, and the annual price increase since the end of 2020.

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