The mountain is still on top

Despite the various crises – Brexit, Covid, war in Ukraine…-, the Alps resorts still attract French and foreign customers looking for a property on the piste.

Indeed, in January, the Alps saw their attendance rate increase. According to the National Observatory of Mountain Stations, in February 2022, 87% of accommodation was occupied compared to winter 2019-2020 which had been impacted by the Covid crisis.

In March 2020, confinement had slowed down construction sites. Prevented from traveling in the summer, the French made do with the mountains. The closure of the ski lifts during winter 2021 made it possible for ski resort enthusiasts to discover new activities such as hiking, mountain biking, paragliding... and to enjoy them the following summer. During winter 2022, the Omicron variant prevented part of the British clientele from coming, but the closure of the Austrian resorts made it possible to overcome this absence thanks to the presence of carryover clients from Benelux, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

Despite all these events, real estate is not experiencing the crisis. Demand remains higher than supply and buyers have substantial budgets. Property rarely sells for less than 800,000 euros for an apartment of 80 sq. m. "We see more and more wealthy clients with an envelope of more than 5 million euros. The resorts lives all year round and attracts sporty people who can telecommute, from Paris, Geneva, Lausanne or London, often French expatriates.” Lionel Thomas, CEO of Sotheby's International Realty Chamonix, says.

Those who want to invest choose serviced-accommodation activities. "In return for the rental of the property and the provision of three of the four services imposed (reception, breakfast, cleaning and supply of linen), they can recover the VAT", Olivier Roche, director of Sotheby's International Realty Megève, says.

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