Assetz® News - How investors can Alp themselves

How investors can Alp themselves

5th February 2008 |

Investors in property looking to make a good return can do so in many locations in France, be it the popular sand and sun resorts of the Cote D'Azur, the wine regions, the hustle and glamour of Paris or the new London commuter belt across the channel that the faster Eurostar may develop.

To all this variety may be added the Alps. Despite fears to the contrary, ski resorts in that part of the world have not suffered the sort of winter they did last year, when the mild weather turned the white pistes into brown sludge.

A number of attractive locations exist for property investors, either for their own purposes or as investors looking to rent out ski property to wintersports enthusiasts.

One new prospect reported this week by Homes Worldwide is Montgenevre, a village close to the Italian border which has undergone major regeneration in order to boost its fortunes. Investors looking to enhance theirs may wish to look at the new apartments being built in the locality, which in addition to the spending of millions of euros on wintersports facilities will now have the advantage of being much quieter than it once was. The reason for this is that the road through the village which linked France with Italy has now been re-routed through a tunnel underneath at a cost of €30 million (£22.3 million).

But it isn't just freshly redeveloped locations which have been tipped to do well. Recently the Daily Telegraph reported that Vaujany, near Grenoble, was one of the top ten ski resorts in the world for investments.

The Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO) told the paper: "Vaujany is a hidden gem - it's a village resort with world-class skiing, having direct access to the entire Alpe d'Huez domain. It is still small, but has one of the largest cable cars in the world and skiing from 3,300 metres down to 1,100 metres".

It is not just a resort with second home potential, however, with Homes Worldwide stating that investors have seen prices rising by eight per cent in the last year.

Another Telegraph article pointed out just how lucrative Alpine property could be. It stated that many who own ski homes in this part of the world were often missing out on a major source of income, using the property for a short time then leaving it idle.

The paper pointed out that figures from Mintel showed 60 per cent of Britons who holiday abroad stay in private rented homes. At the same time, the paper noted, just 24 per cent of those who own property abroad would think about renting it out when they are absent.

It notes that Holiday Rentals, a firm specialising in Alpine accommodation, would look at charging £250 a week per person for a two-bed apartment in France.

Clearly, it would appear, some owners of property in the Alps are sitting on an extra source of income without using it. Those looking to buy property in the area for buy-to-let may wish to make full use of such prospects.