 Poster: A snowHead
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Home in the snow: prices reach new peak
At the heart of the French Alps, in the largest skiable area around the world, property prices are giving some people vertigo. |
The above headline appeared in the French online journal France3 (see article in French) a couple of days ago. A detailed summary follows…
The French Alps have witnessed a vertiginous rise in prices for a number of years, with certain properties in prime locations rivalling the per square metre cost of the most luxurious of Parisian apartments.
Manager of the estate agents “Savoie Immobilier”, Stéphane Géraud, estimated the cost per square metre in a spacious chalet, built in traditional style, with a view over the resort, as anything up to 15,000 euros. In Courchevel this has even risen as high as 20,000 euros.
The Les Gets resort has seen a 15 to 20% rise in property values each year for the past eight years, with some chalets appreciating by as much as 50% in just two years.
In the sought after Paris 6th arrondissement, the richest of the capital, the average price is just 7,000 euros per sq.m., according the Notaries Association.
The national estate agents FNAIM reckon on a 28% across the board rise in property prices (excluding new property) in the Savoie and Haute Savoie over the past 12 months.
Stéphane Gérard continues his appraisal, suggesting that “In 15 years prices in Val d’Isère have multiplied by a factor of 4, whilst bearing in mind that the quality of chalets today is at an entirely different level to that on offer at the end of the 1980s. Today buyers are choosy. They are looking for comfortable living areas, often in excess of 100m², fully equipped with all modern conveniences, with sauna, Jacuzzi, even a private pool.”
Purchasers are seeking properties near authentic Savoyard villages such as La Clusaz, where prices for older properties range between 3,800 and 4,500 euros per m², between 5,600 and 6,900 euros for new, according to the manager of the Atherac agency Patrick Thévenet. Demand remains strong even at that rate but the market for individual chalets is less so. “It is hard to find a buyer for a property priced in excess of 760,000 euros”, he adds.
Opinions differ a little from resort to resort, one agency in Val suggesting prices remain constant but that there is a drop in the number of transactions, while a Morzine estate agent believes demand from individual purchasers remains strong. Institutional investors are rare after the 1991 property crash Gérard Lenglet states, but property has maintained and increased its real value ever since.
British buyers, for whome distances have shrunk with the arrival of the Eurostar and TGV, represent 60% of foreign purchasers in the French Alps, followed by the Scandinavians, the Dutch and the Swiss.
Rises in the southern French Alps have been less dramatic, mainly because of lower altitudes and shorter seasons. In the Pyrenean resorts, prices have risen by a more moderate 10% over the past 12 months.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Of course the rise in property prices only becomes real when you sell. If you owned a place in excess of 100m2 with sauna, jacuzzi, etc and views over Val d'Isère or Courchevel would you really want to sell 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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skanky, 
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 ...... Don't need snow in Provence.
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PG, touché! 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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just grass!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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FAQ
. The percentages increases per annum in certain areas of France will be low figures whilst in the unknown east european resorts the percentage increase per annum and the compound increase will be a lot greater. I am talking investment ( pension scheme ) scenarios. Beware of purchasing through UK limited companies ( all countries ) as UK benefits in kind legslation will hit you hard in the pocket if you use it for any period of time yourself. There was an article in the Sunday Times yesterday about this precise point and people who bought properties in France and Spain were unaware, or badly advised of this particular tax consequence. In simple terms if you buy a foreign property through a UK company just use it 100% for letting and no private use to avoid the BIK charge. An example of a BIK charge - £150,000 MV property at annual yield of 8% gives £12000 p/a - a BIK charge on this at 20% gives £2,400 per annum which if you are a 40% taxpayer gives an annual extra tax liability of £960. Ouch!!!.
