“The market returns to balance in Mont-de-Marsan”

A small home is better than a big one for others. Is the famous French proverb applicable to the Mons metropolitan area? Things seem to be coming together if we are to believe real estate specialists. And it was about time, as the end of 2023 and this first quarter of 2024 have been difficult. “It was even catastrophic. Fortunately it’s back on track,” begins Élodie Pujos, head of the agency. Orpi Immobilier Saint-Roch in Mont-de-Marsan.

“It remains very soft. In more than ten years in the business, I had never seen this. Fortunately, April behaved well,” adds Mathieu Ducousso, director of Côté Patio in Mont-de-Marsan, Hagetmau and Aire-sur-l’Adour. Morale down? Not really. A glimmer of hope seems to animate the two agency heads.

Falling sales prices

And this hope can be summed up in one word: rebalance. To understand this situation, we have to go back a few years. Remember, after the confinement following the health crisis due to Covid-19, there is euphoria. Prices rise, banks lend, everything is going well in the best of all possible worlds. Then, in 2023, real estate slows down, banks are more reluctant to lend, rates rise, buyers’ files are less and less validated if there is not a solid contribution. “A real brake,” comments Élodie Pujos. And this is not specific to Mont-de-Marsan, it could be verified throughout the department. »

A property that sold for 250,000 euros in 2020 is around 220,000 euros today

Another difficulty must be added: intoxicated by the rise in sales prices after Covid, sellers had difficulty bringing prices down. So much so that we were faced with a scissors effect. “There were goods but too expensive compared to what individuals could now buy. However, if we want to sell, prices must remain consistent. Over the past two years, we have seen a decline of around 10% in sales prices. A property that sold for 250,000 euros in 2020 is around 220,000 euros today,” explains Mathieu Ducousso of Côté Patio who notes, like his colleague from Orpi, that “the market is returning, little by little, to balance today. The warm weather is here, and we must take advantage of it. Now is the time to look into a real estate project if you have one. »

And what about rental? The observation is unanimous, it remains “hypertensive”. “An apartment is generally rented in less than a week,” says the real estate agent. Élodie Pujos even evokes a sort of double punishment: “There are few offers and the sector is even more congested given that people who currently want to buy cannot. »

The warm weather is here, and we must take advantage of it. Now is the time to look into a real estate project if you have one.

Could the appearance of cranes and construction sites all over the city change the situation? “He clearly lacks the collective. Mont-de-Marsan is a town that is doing everything to develop by seeking to be attractive, by bringing in the high-speed line… That’s good but it must also involve housing. There is improvement but it is still not enough,” says Mathieu Ducousso.