The past 12 months have exhibited a less frenetic market, still fast-paced and delivering an extremely respectable 15% average annual growth for resale properties and 9% for new build homes across the region.

This part of France has become a major draw for French and international buyers seeking a year-round holiday destination and a quality of life that other parts of the Europe cannot provide. Beautiful surroundings, plentiful outdoor pursuits for the winter and summer seasons and a thriving local economy all encourage buyers to look to the French Alps for both business and pleasure. The major property hotspots are located in mountain and lakeside resorts, where the number of buyers far outstrips supply.

The town of Annecy on Lake Annecy is the region’s administrative and economic capital and there is high demand for homes for local employees and tourists. Further pressure is arriving with buyers from Geneva. A new motorway cutting the commuting time from Annecy to just 20 minutes means that to a Swiss property hunter this “cheaper” French town on the banks of a beautiful lake is an understandably attractive place to live.

Ski and mountain resorts tend to be the domain of the international holiday home and investment buyer, with the British leading the pack, hotly pursued by Italian, Dutch and Irish property hunters. Strict planning regulations and environmental considerations limit the amount of building taking place in mountain locations and with demand consistently high prices are looking set to continue to rise.

What will it cost you?

Property in France is priced by the square metre and in Haute-Savoie the current average for all properties across the region is 2,803 euros. However, to understand how the local property market works you really need to drill down to the price by commune as this is where real differences start to appear.

For example in Annecy town centre, the current average per m² is 3,376 euros. If you move closer to the lakeside this rises to 3,599 euros.  However if you head to the west of the town, towards the peaceful Albanais countryside, you will discover average prices of just 1,936 euros per m².

In the mountains the highest prices are naturally in those well-known resorts that provide easy access to ski slopes and mountaineering: Chamonix Mont Blanc (5,288 euros per m²), Megeve (5,328 euros per m²) and Les Gets (5,203 euros per m²) top the scales when it comes to average resale prices.

If you’re flexible you can get more for your money by checking out some of the resorts that are connected to the same ski pistes as the big name destinations. For example Saint-Gervais-les-Bains is linked to the Megeve / Evasion Mont Blanc ski domain, yet at an average price of 2,812 euros per m² it’s easy to see why this mountain spa town is increasingly fashionable with buyers. Likewise the popular resort of La Clusaz in the Aravis Mountains currently prices at 4,234 euros per m², whilst the nearby charming market town of Thones is 2,529 euros per m².

What does this mean for you?

Well, obviously it means that if you harbour a dream of a mountain chalet or ski apartment the time to act is now. The type of budget that would have bought an attractive chalet in 2000 now buys a 2-3 bedroom ski apartment and this trend is not likely to change. The sooner you can get on the property ladder the sooner you can start to see the return on your investment and enjoy some fabulous holidays in this beautiful part of France.

Want to know more?

If you’re intrigued by what you’ve read and you’d like to know more about the market and our properties, please call us on +33 450 10 44 23, email us at info@ascendant-property.com or visit the property pages of the website.