If you’re in the market for a ski home, 2014 could be the ideal time to snap up a slope-side property in the Alps. Why? Mortgage and exchange rates currently favour Brits, and a number of French resorts have new developments and facilities.

Article written by The Overseas Guides Company

Rewind to October 2013 and the pound was hovering around €1.17, making a €400,000 ski chalet or apartment worth around £342,000 – today that same property would cost £25,000 less, thanks to nothing more than the exchange rate being kinder to British buyers.

Meanwhile, anyone buying a French ski home with a mortgage will also get a better deal than a year ago, thanks to some of the lowest ever mortgage rates available. Fixed mortgage rates in France, including for non-resident owners, have fallen, typically to 3.1 per cent from 3.75 per cent last year. This amounts to a further saving of around €29,000 stretched over 20 years on a €400,000 ski home purchase. No wonder developers and agents are reporting a pre-season surge in enquiries….

Alexis Goldberg of FranceBuyingGuide.com adds: “Increasing awareness of dual seasonality is also bringing more foreign buyers, including Brits, to French Alpine resorts – Chamonix, for instance, has as many, if not more, visitors in the summer than in the winter. The Haute-Savoie region in general is increasingly popular, thanks in part to its easy access to Geneva Airport and being within driving distance of Calais for those who prefer to take the car.”

Meanwhile, over the past 12 months, many exciting new developments have appeared in the French Alps, with a few new hot spots for investors, including Châtel, part of the Portes du Soleil. Ski property specialist Erna Low Property, for example, has sourced new property developments there, ready for this ski season or for next December 2015, with leaseback options or to buy as a second residence ‘classic freehold’. Châtel is set to grow in popularity, thanks to its brand new aqua centre and two new fast chairlifts.

Les Gets, also part of the Portes du Soleil and a short drive from Geneva Airport, had been short of new property developments for a few years, due to a need to upgrade the draining systems and water supplies – now that this is complete, a selection of new properties are coming to market. Les Gets is popular for its low-rise, chocolate-box architecture and for being especially family friendly. 

Elsewhere, Tignes les Brevieres has long been known for its flexible leaseback investment with the British market, with direct access to the world-renowned Espace Killy ski domain. It offers smart accommodation at boutique tourist residences, with typical prices starting at €199,167. In the same ski area, La Plagne offers over 425km of slopes and has launched a new leaseback property investment, comprising ski-in ski-out, fully furnished apartments ready in December 2016.

James Ross, Sales Manager, Erna Low Property: “Over the past two years, we have experienced a great increase in activity levels, the winter season has started in the middle of summer for us, which is something we last saw in 2008. It appears that the French Alps is enjoying a renaissance as a favourite destination for first time investors in France, and we are very well prepared for this activity.”

If you are on the verge of buying a ski property in France, or anywhere in the world, a simple way to save money is to use a currency exchange specialist when transferring your pounds into euros, dollars or other currency. For more information on this, download Smart Currency Exchange’s free report or visit the Currency Zone.

For more information on buying property successfully in France download the Overseas Guides Company’s free France Buying Guide – and start receiving email updates from Alexis Goldberg each week. Or to see property for sale all over France visit Rightmove’s France listings.