Youa “message in a bottle”. For several weeks, this new resident “desperately” looked for accommodation to rent in Bergerac (Dordogne) or in the surrounding area.
This can be seen regularly on the Facebook page called Bergerac and its announcementsFinding a rental can quickly turn into a nightmare in the city of Cyrano. You only have to browse the ad sites to convince yourself that the offer is minimalist.
“This is not a recent phenomenon,” observes Fabrice Lopez, the manager of Pourpr’Immo. The housing stock is aging, even if there has been some investment following Covid.” In any case, all the properties that this agency offers quickly find takers for rental.
To explain this situation, several professionals in the sector also point to the extremely significant presence of Airbnb in the city centre. “The market is very taken by this offer,” confirms Aurélien Jardry of the agency Century 21 who also works in Périgueux. I estimate that the proportion here rises to 80%.” But since this summer, which was a bit mixed in terms of tourism, the professional has seen the return of owners ready to offer year-round leases. “On the other hand, these are furnished apartments, we even have a request for a castle,” notes Aurélien Jardry.
For Grégoire Painchart, responsible for rental at Charbit Real Estate The offer is also mainly carried in the city center on furnished apartments, which may correspond to the desire of a student, but less to that of a family looking for a T2. “Bare accommodation” is rarer, confirms Fabrice Lopez.
“We must not forget that the rental market is also suffering from the crisis,” analyses Aurélien Jardry. “There are fewer sales and therefore fewer purchases and tenants are staying in their homes longer. This reduces turnover.” With the drop in rates for loans, the boss expects to receive a few notices soon.
Faced with this demand, some real estate professionals believe that owners tend to increase rents while the purchasing power of tenants does not keep up.
If the rental market is compressed for apartments, it is very competitive for houses. This type of property is particularly sought after in Bergerac and its first suburbs. “We have a lot of requests,” confirms Grégoire Painchart. “Generally, it goes in one day.” For Aurélien Jardry, the supply of houses is still more substantial.
700 vacant homes
In a report submitted in early November 2023 by the company Urbanis, mandated by the municipality, it appears that 696 homes are vacant in the city center. With almost 12.5% of vacant housing Bergerac emerges from the 5th place nationally cities in its category. A rate that has been steadily increasing since 1999, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Insee). If renovation operations have been carried out in recent years and others are planned, such as rue Bourbarraud, the City could choose to force owners in the future.