Alpine Property: Year-round Investment

You might picture skiing, chalets and snow-covered mountains, but the French Alps have a thriving year-round economy, making this a great option for investment or a permanent move, as Annaliza Davis explains…

Spanning eight different countries, the Alps are the highest mountain range in western Europe, including France’s famous Mont Blanc (4,808m) that also stretches into Switzerland and Italy. The French Alps are located in southeastern France to the right of Geneva, Annecy and Grenoble, and are often split into north and south: the northern Alps are easily accessed from Geneva or Lyon and include the famous resorts of Chamonix, Val d’Isère and Avoriaz, while the southern Alps are reached from Grenoble and include Les Deux Alpes, with Val Thorens being between the two. One advantage of the southern Alps is that it is a location where you can enjoy a spring break skiing one day and swimming in the Mediterranean the next morning, as the area boasts 300 days of sunshine a year. Many British visitors only think of the Alps as a winter destination, but the French are well accustomed to mountain tourism. They enjoy Alpine holidays in spring and summer, exploring the pastures, hiking on the mountain trails and browsing the adorable villages and elegant spa towns, or bathing in the freshwater lakes of Annecy with their stunning backdrop of majestic peaks. If you buy a property in the Alps, you really can get the best of both worlds in a place where you can enjoy distinct and contrasting seasons. In investment terms, it also means that you can take advantage of healthy rental opportunities and use it as a holiday home that pays for itself, or take the plunge and move here permanently, as the infrastructure and economy make this possible.

At the time of writing, France’s average property price is €3,064/m², but you can still buy for less than this in certain areas in the Alps, particularly those further from the key resorts and major cities. Location creates a more dramatic range of prices here than in other parts of France: in the Savoie, for example, property sales for 2024 are recorded at an average of  €4,094/m², but the reality varies from €806/m² (Ste- Reine) to €18,567/m² in the ski resort of Val d’Isère and €16,743/m² in Courchevel. One intangible factor is popularity. You can have two resorts with the same track record of snowfall, altitude and potential for a great ski experience, but an apartment in one resort will cost double simply because it is a fashionable spot. If you intend to buy in order to rent out as a holiday let, make sure you compare like with like: just because a one-bedroom apartment in Chamonix fetches €1,000 a week in rent does not mean you’ll get that much in another resort.

Your first decision will be whether or not you want to be near the ski slopes, either for your own skiing holidays or because you intend to rent out to other ski enthusiasts. If you’ve decided that skiing is a key priority, a key factor is the certainty of good snowfall. Generally speaking, the resorts at higher altitudes have more reliable snow, so when you’re househunting you’ll notice. that ski resorts show their altitude: aim for those with slopes at 3,000m or check recent snowfall statistics. As for location within the resort itself, being closer to the ski lift can get you a bigger premium than having more bedrooms, as this is a particular market with its own priorities! According to a 2022 survey by skidata.io, the most expensive ski resorts if you combine one week’s accommodation and ski passes – are Val d’Isère (€2,050), Courchevel (€2,032) and Méribel (€1,882).

Val d’Isère consistently ranks as one of the world’s best ski resorts and it’s paradise for serious skiers. Condé Nast Traveller sums up its unique attributes as: “guaranteed snow cover, runs for all abilities, glorious off-piste opportunities, and the charm of an ancient mountain village”. A 26m² studio here, the size of a single garage, fetches €350,000 (€12,821/m²) but will rent at €1,500 per week in ski season and over €500 in the summer months. Chamonix is possibly the most famous Alpine resort, thanks to its long history welcoming skiers, consistent snowfall, huge vertical descents and extreme off-piste runs. It can be a bit glitzy and commercial but even cynics admit that it’s a spectacular destination, where 25m² studios fetch €250,000 but weekly rental starts at €850 in winter and €750 in summer.

One hour east of Geneva, Samoëns is not as well-known but offers terrain for all skill levels: black slopes higher up, an intermediate Freestyle Zone, and the truly stunning 14km Cascades run on which even beginners can ski from the summit of Grandes Platières down to the village of Sixt-Fer-a-Cheval. It’s great value, too, with studios from €110,000 that would rent out for around €700 a week in winter and €500 in summer. The family-friendly resort of Avoriaz is purpose-built, with snowparks ideal for boarders. A 25m² studio here fetches around €180,000, renting out for around €800 in ski season and €400 a week in summer. An entry point to the Portes du Soleil runs, Avoriaz sits above the traditional town of Morzine, and both are easily accessible from Geneva airport. Morzine offers more authentic Alpine scenery and accommodation here can be slightly cheaper, although a 25m² studio will still cost upwards of €190,000. You can take the Super Morzine gondola from Morzine centre up to the higher slopes of Avoriaz if you want to enjoy the delights of both resorts. You might think that renovation projects are out of the question in the Alps, but you can still find properties to which you can add value.

They range from near-ruins that will require heavy investment and structural work, to flats or village houses that haven’t been updated for a few decades. For a studio that only requires cosmetic work but is in a sought-after location, you’ll need to allow a budget of €80,000. Larger, detached properties – even requiring structural work – start at around €300,000 in the resorts, but prices drop as you move further from the slopes. The Alps don’t have a wide range of building plots, but they can be found if you look hard enough. A 457m² plot in popular Morzine is priced at €550,000, but it comes with planning permission for a five-bedroom chalet and is two minutes’ walk from the centre and bus stops for Avoriaz.

One of the easiest ways to get to the Alpine ski resorts is to fly to Geneva, an airport with a wide range of international connections. As skiing is so popular in France, the resorts are also well-served by trains. The French rail network, SNCF, lists Avoriaz, Les Arcs, L’Alpe d’Huez, La Norma and Mongenèvre as being the easiest to reach by train. If you’re driving, Calais is the best ferry port: from Calais to Chamonix will take you about nine hours, and Calais to Val Thorens 30 minutes more.

For British tourists, the Alps are immediately associated with white slopes, skiing and snowboarding, but the mountain resorts are also very popular in spring and summer, particularly for hiking. Tourism is vital to the economy. In the Hautes-Alpes alone, it brings in over €1.3m annually and supports 15,000 jobs. Unemployment is around 6.4%, below the national average of 7.3%. According to the French statistics service, INSEE, the standard of living in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, which includes the Alpine ski resorts, is second only to the Parisian area. This is particularly true of Haute- Savoie, where average income is €27,030, well above the national average of €22,320. Overall, Haute-Savoie and Savoie are the two Alpine areas with the strongest economy.