Ski Property Investment Back in Vogue

As winter draws near, ski property investment is once again attracting the attention of overseas property investors, as prices have started rising in resorts such as the French Alps.

But where should you buy your ski property to get the best return for your money, as well as the best winter sports.

The Chamonix resort area in France has seen particularly strong sales activity in recent times, and took top place in the latest Knight Frank Alpine Property Index, an annual ranking of luxury residential price growth in 16 ski resort regions in the French and Swiss Alps.

Situated at the base of Mont Blanc, the highest summit in the Alps, Chamonix benefits from easy access to Geneva International Airport and has year round appeal.

Widely regarded as the most well-equipped, year-round resort in the Alps, Chamonix is now home to more than 13,000 residents and 50 hotels.

The resort has seen an increase in value of 5 per cent for ski property for the last two consecutive years, and this trend is expected to continue.

Because of the year round appeal of the resort, overseas property investors in France can rent their investment properties out to cover their regular expenditures, and indeed around 80 per cent do.

The Swiss ski property market across the border has had mixed fortunes over the last couple of years.

‘In the city centres, a lack of quality stock has kept price levels stable while those regions with an abundance of stock have undergone a price correction,’ said Alex Koch de Gooreynd, partner at Knight Frank International.

Across the pond in Aspen, Colorado, the city council has restricted residential and commercial development downtown amid a growing number of visitors, according to Joshua Saslove, president of Douglas Elliman Real Estate.

However, he added: ‘There has been a lack of demand in areas like Starwood, where the likes of American singer-songwriter John Denver, media mogul Rupert Murdoch, Prince Bandar of a ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia and celebrity Dionne Warwick once called home.’

Overseas property investors interested in ski property should do their homework carefully.