Annecy and Aix-les-Bains, steady demand

Radia Amar - 23 July 2020

Areas around Lake Annecy and the Lake of Le Bourget are the subject of such strong demand that, in communes offering the best locations, prices are seeing a remarkable surge.

Specializing in sales and run by José Malla, La Cible Immobilière covers an area within a radius of 10 kilometres around Aix-les-Bains. “Our buyers are showing interest in a variety of properties whose prices can differ significantly : a villa worth 400,000 € will quickly find a taker, though properties posted at higher prices are also seeing steady demand. We just sold a house priced at 450,000 €, for example, on the very first visit : it attracted five calls in the space of 12 hours.” For permanent homes, prices of 2-bedroomed apartments range from 3,200 to 4,500 € per sq.m depending on their appointments. “For more than a year, we have seen a rise in prices which has been confirmed since the lockdown came to an end, especially for properties on the banks of the Lake of Le Bourget.” In particular, the communes of Brison-Saint-Innocent and Tresserve are meeting with real enthusiasm. As soon as an apartment offers a view of the lake, its price can attain 6,000 € per sq.m. This rising trend is, however, also being seen in the centre of Aix-les-Bains where apartments benefiting from a garage, lift and terrace are highly sought-after by a mostly French clientele, from Paris, Lyon or Annecy. Nicknamed the “Riviera of the Alps” and rated N°1 on the “ville-ideale.fr” website, Aix-les-Bains is drawing a growing number of buyers who appreciate its privileged lakeside location and its proximity to the skiing domain of Le Revard. Furthermore, it offers direct access to Lyon, Annecy and Geneva, making it an increasingly attractive town.”

One of the world leaders in luxury and prestige real estate, Coldwell Banker is an American network founded over a century ago, now with over 3,100 agencies worldwide. Pascal Chevaux runs the branch in Annecy which covers the areas around the lakes of Annecy and Le Bourget, as well as the border region in the Bassin Genevois. “Houses offering a view of the lake, or even at the water’s edge, and top-floor apartments constitute the core of demand among buyers calling on our expertise. As for budgets, they range from 1.5 to over 6 million euros.” This clientele comprised of company directors and senior executives want to benefit from the region’s privileged environment, some of them settling here with their families, while working in Geneva. “Two communes are proving to be very highly prized : Annecy-le-Vieux for its proximity to shops and access to the motorways, and Veyrier-du-Lac for its uppercrust residential environment, where large families from the region have elected domicile. Offerings here are rare : houses offered for sale at 1.5 million euros four years ago now fetch from 2 million euros, while a house at the water’s edge previously worth 4 million euros will now be pegged at 6 million. Since the end of the confinement period, activity has picked up without, however, attaining its usual level, due to the absence of foreign buyers in the region.”.