Alpine property prices 'avalanche'

A snowHead

There's always a risk of avalanche during a thaw and in the current financial meltdown, it is not surprising to hear that prices of chalets and apartments in the Alps are on the economic bloodwagon. Euro prices of property in resorts popular with Brits are tumbling. But before you raid your pension fund, the weak exchange rate means Sterling prices are, if anything, higher...

[The para above (which has now had two unapproved edits) has an errant comma and plenty of superfluous words. DG]

This report from The Financial Times.

A snowHead

Well, well, very similar to the UK where the house prices are 'plunging', 'crashing', 'dropping through the floor', oh my oh my that's another 30% dropped off right there. But, hang on...does this mean they are now affordable and I can suddenly buy a house? Nope. Something else comes along like increased mortgages, a minimum 20% deposit, lack of mortgages on offer etc. Currency changes come and currency changes go. Only a problem at the moment if you need to sell right now and then, granted, it may be tricky. Sounds very silly maybe but not everyone is caught up in the downward spiral and I should think there will be some cash rich types who are having a right laught at the moment and picking up French (and oter overseas) properties all willy-nilly.

Very Happy

Merry Christmas one and all...

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

David Goldsmith, property in the Alps is over valued still.

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I'd say its a lot worse than that ,I'm a happy owner in Ste Foy but I hear the pain being experienced by some Chalet owners is just hell , apart from already funding their purchase with a mortgage they went back after the price rises to remorgage to provide more capital to reinvest in property in uk or dubai etc , if your cash rich and looking for a place in the alps I'd chuck a few bids in 50% below asking prices , It wouldn't be surprised if one got hit .

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Personally I'm not unhappy that the Alpine property bubble may have burst. I'd like too see a return to skiers patronising local guesthouses, hostels, hotels etc., which could restore the 'getting away from it all' effect, rather than transplanting oneself to some urban jungle in the mountains.

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David Goldsmith, one of the reasons I like gong to the Lutins in LDA.

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After all it is free

Although I do let out my property, it was primarily a personal purchase, not a pension plan, nor a business opportunity, although at the moment it is earning it's keep. One reason we bought small was so that we wouldn't be overstretched if finances were tight.

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Prices in some resorts went silly in the last couple of years.

When I skied in Arc 1800, 9 years ago, I could have bought a studio there for £15,000 at that time.

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I wonder how many people are in the same position as me? We bought our place about five or six years ago, and in the following years prices shot through the roof (even though they seemed eye-wateringly expensive when we paid for our place). Going on how much similar size apartments in our block sold for this time last year, prices seemed to have risen by an insane 250% or more. Looking at the recently announced prices for the fifth and final building in our development there has been a marked decline in prices since last year's high water mark, as much as 30% or so. However, sterling has devalued against the euro by about the same amount over the last couple of months, so what we would have lost with one hand we would have gained with the other.

It's all a bit academic because we have no plans to sell, and, touch wood, hope not to be forced to sell by unforeseen events. But if we did have to sell we would be be looking at a considerable increase in the value of the apartment, and would not begrudge the Tresor Public its share of our capital gains.

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I'm selling my place here and have priced it at about 20 per cent less than the value 18 months ago. I don't think there will be much chance of a UK buyer.

You know it makes sense.

David Goldsmith, hmmm, we are a local guesthouse. I would prefer my property to have a higher valuation than a lower one, thank you.

It's all very well for you townies.

Anyway, it's as noted, relative. An apartment locally recently went for around €30,000 per square metre. The most expensive property, ever, in Chamonix. So if I can realise anything like that I'll be well happy.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Thought this extract from the FT piece was typical of a writer that doesn't actually know anything...

But not every resort has witnessed the same price falls. The strictly limited availability of building land in certain French and Swiss resorts, coupled with restrictions on the number and type of properties that foreigners can buy in Switzerland has kept prices in areas such as Kaprun and Zell am See at a premium.

So, it appears that the Austrian resorts of Zell am See and Kaprun are now in Switzerland (or is it France?) and, just for the record, prices there have never been at a premium, even in boom times.

A snowHead

Swiller, I'd agree that the sentence isn't brilliantly clear, but I would not agree that it implies that Zell am See and Kaprun aren't in Austria. It would help if the sentence explictly stated that those resorts are in Austria.

A snowHead

David Goldsmith, well no, it refers to restrictions on the number and type of properties that foreigners can buy and that doesn't apply in Salzburgerland. Perhaps the poor writer had their words twisted by an evil editor.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Bode Swiller, I agree with you on this one, if I didn't know better, I would have assumed those resorts were Swiss.

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Not much has changed here in Wengen. A new 3 bed apartment in a not very convenient part of the village is currently on offer for CHF875,000 (about £500k). Building continues apace, with no apparent shortage of (principally British) buyers. We even have a swanky estate agents office in position 'A' on the main street.

One beneficial effect of this is that there is now oversupply in the holiday lettings market. In years gone by, getting a decent apartment for a couple of weeks over Xmas was almost like waiting for dead men's shoes. Nowadays you're spoiled for choice, and prices are much more reasonable.

I do wonder sometimes whether people buy just 'because they can', rather than out of any sense of financial reason. I've looked at buying here more than once, but the figures have never added-up. These days the arithmetic makes even less sense, but the buyers keep queueing up!

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No wonder all you money guys ski like crap -despite l all those expensive one to ones - relax - enjoy yourself - do not feel guilty - think like a hippy -do not worry about your property values - and most importantly start running mountain marathons in the summer months this will get your core strength- words of advice from an ex pro - bike rider living in the Alps!! Very Happy

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snowbandit, I'm not sure quite what to make of your post - but welcome

to snowHeads.

After all it is free

Bye the way stay out of the north wall bar in ZERMATT everybody is down to earth in my local!!

Thankyou Alastair - snow is good in Zermatt today - i have noted your comment - we locals get slightly amused by the cowdoo we hear from our 1 week heroes!!!- they arrive on a Saturday -cowdoo in the bars untill 1 to 4 and we see the evidence early Sunday morning -most of them do not ski that well -arcteryx jackets and helmets et al - most of my local headbangers (friends) run rings round these chicks and guys - as we used to say in my bike racing days it is either in your legs or not?? Very Happy

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Anyway - all you snow headers have a great week -end and ski safe -the powder is very unstable at the moment - think before you go off !! -and words of wisdom from a northern git!!

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snowbandit,

I wish I was in the postition to be concerned about my ski property prices. Unfortunately I am not. I'm only a lottery win away though! wink

You know it makes sense.

Zermatt is my second home

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Zermatt is my second home Very Happy

A snowHead

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

snowbandit, when did they move Zermatt to Lancashire?

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Sorry!!! - there will be less frequent visits-the way the pound is nose diving-this time last year we were getting around 2.25 - it is now around 1.6 Sad

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snowbandit, fewer visits to Lancashire or to Zermatt?

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Probably Zermatt - but I am devising a plan - good bye Max Jullens - hello Co-op and McDonalds -the big question is will Mrs Snowbandit go for it?? -I will have to work on that one - could consider more visits to Andermatt -the pizzas are good in the Spycher bar and you can burn everything off on the Gemstock -the other big bonus is no Russians - the one downside to Zermatt over the last few years-in my experience the vast majority are very rude -unlike us northerners Cool

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Kersh, it's a continuing myth I think, perpetuated by people who like the status quo. We came up against this time and time again when we were property-hunting, and there is a lot of smoke and mirrors still.

There used to be lots of local laws restricting who could buy where and what they could do with it, but the EU law states that an owner of a property can do what he likes with his property, and so legally, these local laws are not really valid anymore. However, try telling that to some of the estate agents and you will get a different answer every time.

The problem is that nobody has yet bothered to bring a test case, IMV probably because of the nature of local village communities in Austria that if you press ahead and go against what the locals think is law (even though it isn't), and in many cases still want to be law, then you will not make any friends and life could become difficult. As an owner abroad, I rely on a number of local people to make sure that the apartment is serviced, safe and still standing through the months when we are not there, so alienating them is not a good idea.

Incidentally, it was in Bad Hofgastein where we had the most trouble with an immo who kept swearing that he couldn't sell us a house because of the local laws. Strangely, Remax would have been happy to sell us the very same house! We had the same thing in Zell where some of the older immo people would only let us view certain apartments, and others would let us view everything, and openly said that the EU law meant that anyone could buy anything.

It's still almost impossible to buy in most of Tirol and Vorarlberg, even though there is no longer any legal basis for the restrictions. Local property owning families and businesses tend to close ranks in this regard in some resorts.

D

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Alpine property prices 'avalanche'

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