Living here
Housing in the Basque Country: property prices, rents and market rules
Price per m² in Gipuzkoa, Biscay, Álava and Navarre, French Basque coast rents, rent caps, stressed areas, holiday lets: what to know before house-hunting.
Finding somewhere to live in the Basque Country (Euskal Herria) is no easy task: on both sides of the border, the market is tight, especially on the coast. The authorities have responded with new rules. Here are the official figures and the rules you need to know.
The south: Euskadi
Prices
According to the Basque Housing Observatory (Observatorio Vasco de la Vivienda), in 2025 the market in Euskadi (the Basque Autonomous Community) saw its highest level of activity since 2007, with 26,326 sales (up 13.9% year on year). The average price of open-market housing reached €3,295/m² on average (up 8.2% year on year):
| Territory | Average price per m² (2025) | Average price of a home |
|---|---|---|
| Gipuzkoa | €3,814 | €308,197 |
| Biscay | €3,167 | €265,733 |
| Álava | €2,526 | €240,189 |
In San Sebastián, the average price of a home reaches €515,000, the highest of the three provincial capitals.
Stressed housing market areas
Spain’s Housing Law allows local areas to be declared stressed residential market areas (zonas de mercado residencial tensionado). At the end of January 2026, 14 municipalities in Euskadi had this status: San Sebastián, Bilbao, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Irun, Errenteria, Zumaia, Lasarte-Oria, Astigarraga, Usurbil, Hernani, Tolosa, Lezo, Barakaldo and Galdakao. Between them, they are home to 53% of the population of Euskadi.
The main effects: reference rent indices, the option for tenants to extend their leases, and tools to curb rents and build up the supply of affordable housing.
The south: Navarre
Navarre does not publish the same statistics. According to idealista’s price reports (asking prices in listings, July 2026):
- For sale: €1,977/m² on average, up 10.9% year on year.
- For rent: €10.7/m² a month, stable year on year (+0.1%).
These are asking prices set by sellers and landlords, not actual sale prices: they are not directly comparable with the figures for Euskadi.
The north: the French Basque Country
Rents
According to the local rent observatory for the Basque Country and southern Landes (Observatoire local des loyers Pays basque – Sud Landes, 2024 figures), two things need to be distinguished: the rent paid by all tenants, including those who have been in place for years on an old lease, and the rent paid by recent movers (less than a year), which is closer to what you will pay when you arrive.
| Area | All tenants | Recent movers |
|---|---|---|
| Whole area (103 municipalities) | €11.3/m² | €12.2/m² |
| Zone 1 — most expensive coastal area | €12.8/m² | €16.8/m² |
| Zone 2 | €11.2/m² | €13.0/m² |
| Zone 3 | €11.1/m² | €11.4/m² |
| Zone 4 — hinterland and rural | €8.3/m² | €10.0/m² |
Zone 1 covers Anglet, Arcangues, Bayonne (Arènes-Lachepaillet district), Biarritz, Bidart, Ciboure (north), Guéthary and Saint-Jean-de-Luz, as well as Capbreton, Seignosse and Soorts-Hossegor in the Landes. Zone 4 includes Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, Saint-Palais and Mauléon-Licharre.
By way of example, a 50 m² flat on the coast let to a newcomer at €16.8/m² works out at about €840 a month excluding service charges (indicative calculation). Small homes are the most expensive per square metre: in zone 1, €18/m² for a studio (T1), compared with €11/m² for a T4 (four main rooms) or larger.
The private rented sector houses 28% of households in the area, or more than 53,600 homes.
Rent control
At the end of 2024, rent control (encadrement des loyers) came into force in the 24 municipalities of the French Basque Country’s high-pressure housing zone (zone tendue).
Holiday lets
To protect year-round housing, the Basque Country conurbation authority (Communauté d’agglomération Pays basque) regulates holiday lets (meublés de tourisme) in these 24 municipalities (including Bayonne, Biarritz, Anglet, Saint-Jean-de-Luz and Hendaye):
- Turning a second home into a holiday let requires a change-of-use authorisation.
- This authorisation is subject to compensation: you must convert an equivalent floor area of non-residential premises (offices, shops…) into housing in the same municipality, or buy ‘commercial rights’ (droits de commercialité).
- A main residence can be let without authorisation, up to 120 days a year.
- Every listing must display a 13-digit registration number.
For sale prices, check the median prices published by notaries (immobilier.notaires.fr), municipality by municipality.
Our tips
- Start early and widen your search inland or to the municipalities around the big towns.
- On the Spanish side, don’t forget the paperwork involved in settling in (see our guide).
- To live on one side and work on the other, read our cross-border worker’s guide.
Sources
- Basque Government — The Basque housing market in 2025 (Basque Housing Observatory)
- Basque Government — New stressed areas: Hernani, Tolosa and Lezo (29 January 2026)
- Basque Country – Southern Landes local rent observatory — Key figures 2024 (PDF)
- Communauté d’agglomération Pays basque — Rent observatory 2024 (in French)
- Communauté d’agglomération Pays basque — Letting a holiday home (in French)
- idealista — Price reports: sales in Navarre; rentals in Navarre
- Notaires de France — Property prices in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques (in French)
Ongi etorri — and happy house-hunting!