Living on love and fresh water on an island all to yourself, isolated from the world and far from its tumults. Who has never dreamed of buying an island to relax with their feet in the water? This is good because two heavenly stones are currently looking for new owners in Brittany. A fairly unprecedented situation because private islands for sale are very rare on the market. “There are perhaps one or two transactions per year and again it depends on the year,” recognizes Peter Bos, real estate advisor at the Sotheby’s International Realty agency in Brittany.
The agent knows this “niche” market well where pearls for sale in France are mainly concentrated in the Gulf of Morbihan and in the Bréhat archipelago on the sublime pink granite coast (Côtes-d’Armor). Last year, it was he who negotiated the sale in the Trieux estuary of the Roc’h ar Hon islet, acquired by a French buyer who made it his second home. Peter Bos has this time in his luxurious catalog Lavrec Island, on sale for a few weeks at a price of 2.310 million euros.
A clientele not bling-bling and looking for discretion
For this modest sum, the future owner will treat himself to a little corner of paradise of almost six hectares opposite the island of Bréhat, accessible on foot at low tide. A place also steeped in history because it is here that the monk Budoc, who came from Great Britain, is said to have built the first monastery in Armorican Brittany in the 5th century, of which only a few ruins remain today. “It’s a magical place which has belonged since 2017 to a Belgian entrepreneur who now wishes to sell it,” says the real estate advisor.
Several potential buyers have already shown interest in purchasing Lavrec Island. Customers who of course have no money problems to drop such a sum. But we are here in Brittany and not in the Maldives or the Bahamas. No chance of seeing the island bought by Johnny Deep, Jeff Bezos or Rihanna. “For the Breton islands, the clientele is essentially European and mainly French,” indicates Roselyne Bothorel, director from the real estate agency Demeures du littoral. “They are often entrepreneurs who love the sea and Brittany and who come here to seek discretion,” adds Peter Bos.
No new construction authorized
Among the happy owners of islands in Brittany, we can cite the Bolloré and Mulliez families or Pierre Kosciusko-Morizet, founder of PriceMinister and brother of the ex-minister, who bought the island of Rimains, located off the coast of Cancale, in 2012. Since May, the island of Fandouillec in the Etel ria (Morbihan) has also been looking for its Robinson. This 3.6 hectare haven of peace is on sale for 2.782 million euros at both Sotheby’s International Realty and Demeures du littoral. “A magnificent and rare place in the heart of unspoiled nature where you can recharge your batteries,” says the ad, which specifies that the island is home to “a charming stone house of approximately 140 m² equipped with all the comforts with water and electricity on the continent. »
A little piece of paradise certainly but which has nothing of great luxury. “We are never ostentatious on the Breton islands,” underlines Frédéric Dubois, an independent real estate expert based in Vannes who regularly intervenes to estimate the value of an island. Moreover, it is impossible for a buyer to build a villa or dig a swimming pool on their rock as the regulations are strict, as everywhere on the coast, and any new construction is prohibited.
“This dream of buying an island will always exist”
On Lavrec Island, the future owner will have to take out the checkbook to completely renovate the 150 m² house before moving in. “At present only the walls remain but a renovation project has already been carried out by the current owner,” specifies Peter Bos. We are therefore far from the life of a pasha on certain islands where comfort is very rudimentary. “Island life also brings with it a lot of constraints and few people live on their island all year round,” says Frédéric Dubois.
So many elements which explain why certain islands sometimes remain on sale for several months. “Just after Covid, they could have left overnight but not anymore, buyers are more thoughtful,” assures Roselyne Bothorel. If the real estate market has calmed down a little, Peter Bos has no doubt that these two islands will find buyers. “This dream of buying an island will always exist and the opportunities are rare,” he believes. But like any dream, it has a price. » A millionaire’s dream then.