Assetz® News - Roll on the Swiss summer

Roll on the Swiss summer

10th March 2008 |

Those looking at investing in property in Alpine areas may have many issues in mind as they look to secure a buy-to-let property in the mountains. Where once it might have been assumed that such an investment was a seasonal one, which would bring in most or all of its income from being hired out to those eager to hurtle down the pistes, matters are now somewhat different.

In the first instance, the reliability of snow has been an area of increasing doubt in recent years. The poor winter of 2006-07, when some low-lying resorts had to leave normally busy ski slopes closed due to a lack of snow, alerted many to the potential harm global warming could do.

Evidence of such a problem, however, has lain not just in the weather patterns of one winter. A report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has concluded that the Alpine region is "particularly sensitive" to climatic change, with the rate of warming three times that of the global average.

For some, the solution might be to aim high, picking up property in resorts where altitude or the proximity of glaciers ensure better snow conditions than more vulnerable lower slopes. But there is another development which may offer both a safety net against global warming and also a way of ensuring buy-to-let property in Swiss ski resorts can be an earner throughout the year. Now visitors to the Swiss Alps are not faced with ghost towns in summer, but a range of outdoor activities that do not require any snow.

Steve Thomas, managing director of ski property firm Alpine Property Investments, made this point about the range of activities now on offer. He said: "Outside of the winter season there is a huge array of things to do, including mountain biking, thousands of kilometres of hiking, climbing to test all levels with famous mountains like the Eiger - to test the most experienced of climbers - [and] horse riding."

He added: "Unlike in many other alpine resorts, where they become ghost towns outside of the winter and summer, the Swiss alpine resorts are working villages and means they are full of activity all year round with visitors frequenting not just in the high season."

The combination of these factors may make a huge difference to those investing in such property. It means a wider range of tourist may turn up, as well as providing a market at the start and end of what is now the winter season if climate change changes these periods from being times of snow to times of lush greenery.

Furthermore, there is evidence of increased summer tourism to mountainous areas such as Canton Valais. In august 2006, for example, the Office Federal de la Statistique reported a 7.6 per cent increase in visitors in June from the previous year. If the winter season is indeed shortening, it appears the summer queues are doing the opposite.