Chamonix, an address of international renown

The commune consists of 16 villages and hamlets. Its history dates back to 1091 AD, when Count Aymon Ist of Geneva gave the valley to the Benedictine Abbey of Saint-Michel de la Cluse. The monks then elected domicile on the right bank of the River Arve and the priory of Chamonix rose from the ground. From medieval times to the 21st century, a lot of water has flown beneath the bridge... Until the address became a skiing resort with an international reputation and the world capital of mountaineering.

Between the Aiguilles Rouges and Mont-Blanc, Chamonix, together with Saint-Gervais-les-Bains, posts the highest altitude in western Europe, with a variation climbing from 995 to 4,807 metres, which wins it lots of votes from Alpinists and mountain hikers. Almost 9,000 people live here year-round. Chamonix is on the border with both Switzerland and Italy. The Mont-Blanc tunnel links it with the trans-Alpine commune of Courmayeur in the Valley of Aoste. The River Arve flows through the town centre. The cable-car known as L’Aiguille du Midi takes you to a peak at an altitude of 3,777 metres. You can then choose to ride to the central mountain spur in a lift inside the rock, or take the Panoramic Mont-Blanc cable-car to 5,093 metres, above the Vallée Blanche and the glacier. 88 km separate Chamonix from Geneva’s international airport, and a bus service takes residents from Les Houches to Le Tour. Of the 13,530 dwellings recorded in the commune in 2009, 32 % are year-round homes, 66 % holiday homes. Only a quarter of them are houses. Chamonix has educational establishments geared to the mountains : the Centre d’Instruction de Ski et d’Alpinisme run by the Gendarmerie, the Institut de Formation et de Recherche en Médecine de Montagne, the Ecole Nationale de Ski et d’Alpinisme and the Ecole Militaire de Haute Montagne. In the winter of 2009-2010, 2 million hotel-nights were recorded with guests from Great Britain, Scandinavia and Russia, versus 1.8 million recorded from June to September, 2010.

“These days, buyers are taking their time, making comparisons and honing their searches,” says Brigitte Comte of the Agence A.I.M.. She points to three main focuses of activity : studios and 1-bedroomed apartments priced around 200,000 €, popular as holiday homes, 2- and 3-bedroomed apartments and small chalets from 300,000 to 500,000 €, to the taste of people working locally and occasional residents, and the upper end of the market starting from 900,000 €, bringing a detached house and inevitably a second residence, as the locals cannot afford such budgets. It is currently very hard to sell properties in the 500,000-900,000 € bracket. The clientele, consisting of sports-lovers, families and international buyers, appreciate the easy access to Chamonix, a 45-minute drive from Geneva and 10 minutes from the motorway entrance at Le Fayet, the layout of this little town, lively year-round, not forgetting its high-quality sports centre with indoor and outdoor swimming pools. The ski-lifts have been rejuventated over the past few years, though some improvements could still be made to the infrastructures offered by rival resorts. In the high season - ie. the winter and height of summer -, the population can easily double. Foreigners are always ready to compliment the warm, friendly welcome laid on by the people of Upper Savoy.

“Over the past six months, the market has shown a certain amount of tension, despite constant demand from French and Swiss clients wanting to make sound, long-term investments rather than leave their savings in the bank,” notes Sylvie Squinabol of Peak Immo, an agency which provides assistance for its clients, even as far as for “home staging”, a real accelerator when it comes to selling. These acquisitions, usually paid for in cash, are often replacements of main residences. Behind the notion of personal enjoyment, there is clearly an emphasis on that of acquiring a sound investment. Prices are stable. Only 1- and 2-bedroomed apartments intra-muros are tending to rise a little, due to their scarcity. The last five sales handled by the agency ranged from 140,000 to 250,000 €, then from 350,000 to 500,000 €, the sum required for a 2-storey chalet of 90 m2 in need of renovation, with a garden of 600 m2. They were all acquired as holiday homes. Buyers looking for main residences come up against drastic conditions for mortgages. Over and above 900,000 €, the clientele consists of Russians, fond of the European crossroads, just like Americans, and always keen to see the resort’s webcam.

Contrary to all expectations, Century 21 Chevallier Immobilier, a network agency directed by Philippe Chevallier, active in the valley of the Arve in the fields of rental management and sales of both residential and commercial properties, chalked up from January to June, 2013, turnover 20 % higher than that recorded for the first half of 2012. Geneva, London and Milan are apparently excellent sources of new clients. Oddly enough, scores for rental investments show a decline. As a few non-residents have taken their properties off the market due to the new tax regulations, the stocks of available rentals have soared, largely exceeding demand. Locals do not usually pay more than 600,000 € for their homes. And building land is scarce. The most modest plot of 1,000 m2 costs 300,000 €. In order to benefit from more attractive prices, they head for the valley, to Passy, Chedde or Sallanches, where they can still find “pavillons” from 300,000 to 400,000 €. Some see an alternative in a chalet that has been split into apartments, pegged at around 3,500 €/m2. Clearly fond of the mountains, clients are generally discreet. Which doesn’t prevent a few rare sales between 2 and 3 million euros. A trader working in Geneva, for example, rented a chalet for an entire season for 70,000 €. He recently acquired his own, for 3 million euros.