At €3,369 per m2, it is Rue Colbert which this year wins the prize for the most expensive street in Brest, according to the online real estate valuation site MeilleursAgents in its study devoted to the most expensive streets of the 50 main ones. cities or metropolises of France. They are well surrounded in the Top 5 of the Cité du Ponant by rue Amiral Linois (€3,278), place de la Liberté (€3,299), square L'Herminier (€3,307) or even rue Boussingault (€3,324). Not really a surprise: they are all located in what Brest residents historically call this area “the Golden Triangle”. A popular neighborhood, already before the war, for the bourgeoisie and senior officers of the National Navy.
However, despite the peaks reached, they are not representative of the Brest market which is booming since the health crisis. “On the contrary”, according to Maïwenn Hamon, director of the Human agency in Brest Centre, who notes that prices there remain essentially the same as before Covid. Sales, as they appear on the official DVF (Demande de Valeur Foncière) website, are not numerous, if not non-existent. Tiny, rue Colbert, well known for hosting the Brest central police station, has more commercial premises or doctors' offices than apartments. Maïwenn Hamon is also “surprised not to see Cours Dajot or Boulevard Gambetta appear in this ranking, where you can find many apartments with balconies, parking and views of the harbor”.
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The most spectacular price increases are not in these neighborhoods! “There was real hysteria on the Brest market during and after Covid,” continues Maïwenn Hamon. It was one of the cities considered among the least expensive in France, but the economic situation meant that we had waves of buyers from outside the region, often Bretons expatriated in large cities, with salaries much higher than those here, who had the opportunity to return, especially thanks to teleworking. The massive demand caused prices to explode, very quickly. »
To the point that it has become difficult to find accommodation at a reasonable price in Brest. “We have seen, and we still see, popular neighborhoods like Bellevue, Dourjacq or Saint-Luc, where T3-T4s were previously sold for between €60,000 and €80,000 and which have now sold for up to €170,000 after Covid for an identical proposal. » Today, however, the flow has calmed down a little. “In these sectors, we are now down to between €110,000 and €140,000 depending on the condition of the property and the work,” estimates Maïwenn Hamon. A lull attributed to the shrinking borrowing capacity of potential buyers.
According to the director of the Human agency, Brest is now in a “tense zone, like Rennes and Nantes” and therefore facing a housing crisis, with purchase or rental prices that are too high. “We have more and more students from UBO, the University of Western Brittany, who come from all over France or from abroad and whatever their means, it becomes impossible for them to find accommodation. The proposal is not there. » Young workers are in the same boat.