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Chamonix property values top 2017 growth
Year-round resorts perform best in the market
A new report into ski property across the French and Swiss alps has just been released by Knight Frank, a leading global estate agency.
The report gathers together research from ski resorts across France and Switzerland and delves into the reason why some resorts are proving more lucrative to owners than others, as well as looking at the year on year growth in prices.
Larger growth can apparently be attributed to some of the resorts making their year-round offer more attractive, with investments in things like water parks and spas or mountain biking trails.
This is how the year on year growth appears in the resorts contained in the report. Annual % change to June 2017:
- Chamonix +4.8%
- Val d'Isere +2.5%
- Gstaad +1.8%
- Andermatt +1.8%
- Courchevel 1650 & 1550 +1.0%
- Meribel +0.7%
- Courchevel 1850 +0.5%
- St Moritz +0.5%
- Megeve 0%
- Verbier -1.7%
- St Gervais -2.9%
- Villars -5%
- Klosters -7%
- Davos -8.2%
- Crans Montana -15%
The report states that Chamonix topping the chart this year is due to the resort being "widely-regarded as the most well equipped year-round resort in the Alps, [which] has now seen prime prices increase by almost 5% for two consecutive years".
Andy Symington from local estate agents and Knight Frank partners Mountain Base, told us why he believes Chamonix has come out on top;
"Chamonix topping the price growth rankings just underlines the value of the large investments being made in the Valley. Despite the economic challenges over the past 12 months, from Brexit onwards, the property market in Chamonix remains robust and we are seeing growth across all sectors, particularly in the core markets. It is encouraging in the short term and the ever-growing spring, summer and autumn business should see the Valley continue to prosper in the medium to longer term".
The report goes on to say that the majority of the Swiss resorts sit towards the foot of the rankings table, due to the strength of the Swiss Franc and restrictions on foreign buyers. Sales of properties below the 2 million CHF mark have seen the most activity.
Investment by resorts is key to not only their longevity, but the performance of the local property market.
They say "The ski market is an evolving landscape and resorts have to adapt if they are to continue to attract tourists, residents and investors. Today, not only are ski visits starting to plateau or even dip (France saw numbers slip by 3.5% and Switzerland by 4.4% in 2015/16 compared to the previous season) but skiers also have higher expectations when it comes to the reliability of snow, the quality of accommodation and the facilities on offer".
"Most resorts have managed to stay ahead of the game by investing in snow cannons, improving lifts and adding gondola lifts, but they have also realised that not all visitors are ski aficionados. The latest data shows that around 25% of annual visitors to the Alps are non-skiers".
More inspiration...
There are some great investment opportunities in the Chamonix valley at the moment. Whether you're looking for a first or second home, holiday rental, business investment or plot of land, there are plenty of choices.
