New property for sale on the Atlantic Coast of France

News & Guides / New property for sale on the Atlantic Coast of France

How to decide what new villa or apartment to buy on the Atlantic Coast of France to maximise your investment and lifestyle goals

There are a number of factors to consider when buying a new apartment or villa on the Atlantic Coast of France, particularly if French is not your mother tongue and you are unfamiliar with the French legal and financial system and the buying process in France as a whole. Avecoeur is uniquely placed to offer a 360 degree service for its clients from finding the right property to obtaining the finance and renting it out if you choose. View our services for property investors in France and services for property owners page to see more details on this.

The VAT rebate for new property on the Atlantic Coast of France

If you choose to rent your property out once you have bought it then you can benefit from being refunded the VAT included in the price and details of this can be found on our VAT rebate page. VAT is included in all new build French properties (like most countries) but the difference in France is that you are able to have it refunded to you if you rent it out for some of the time via a company like Avecoeur. There are also other benefits of buying a property off-plan in France which are worth considering.

Where to buy a new apartment or villa on the Atlantic Coast of France

Choosing where to buy on the Atlantic Coast of France will depend on your budget, criteria and lifestyle and investment priorities however below are some good rules of thumb if you are looking to rent out your property on the Atlantic Coast of France.

If you want to be able to achieve a good occupancy rate and tariff when renting out your apartment or villa you need to buy in a sought after seaside resort or area of great tourism that has a number of fun activities and ideally places of cultural interest too. A good level of amenities nearby such as shops, restaurants and bars are necessary too and if there are local vineyards and chateaux, regular festivals, museums, galleries and concerts in the area then that will be the icing on the cake. For this reason, although an isolated property seems romantic, it is unlikely to rent much at all outside the very peak summer weeks in July & August. Less important, but still in need of consideration, are the ease of access of the location from major French cities and from the airport: as a general rule the transfer from the airport to the property location should be under 2 hours, certainly under 2h30mins. The major airports that service the West coast of France are: Nantes, La Rochelle, Bordeaux and Biarritz. The charm and architecture of a village/town for a summer rental property located on or near the seaside is important as these types of holidays are less activity focused (like ski holidays) and more focused on being in a very pleasurable environment. A sea view is great if you have the budget as it is a unique feature that makes it stand out but the increase in price to have a sea view is not always matched by an equal increase in rental income so if trying to maximise your yield a sea view is actually not a necessary feature. It is useful though when re-selling. To help you decide which area of the West Coast of France is for you it is worth taking a look at our Atlantic Coast of France guide.

Apartment or Villa

If you have the budget to purchase a detached villa then that is great but it is not necessary to generate a solid rental return and it is more important to get the location right than to buy in a less desirable area where you can afford a villa. That said, if the villa has its own private pool and is within a gated residence with onsite facilities like a tennis court then they do rent well, especially when they are near the beach.

New build or existing older property

If you are looking to rent your property out for a certain amount of time with a rental management company like Avecoeur, then because of the VAT rebate available on new build French property, it really is a no-brainer. While a new build property in France is typically 15% to 20% more expensive than an older property, this is offset immediately by the reimbursement of the VAT. Then when you add in all the other benefits of buying off-plan property in France such as the reduced notaire fees and the build guarantee it skews all the advantages in favour of a new apartment or villa, provided it is in the right location. In addition new build properties are ready to rent out immediately and will not require renovation works for a long time while older properties inherently require some renovation and could have expensive imminent communal charges such as a new roof for example. View our page on the new build buying process in France through Avecoeur for an understanding of the steps involved.

View our new property for sale on the Atlantic Coast of France page to see a curated selection.