Morzine and Les Gets, markets on top of the world !

Among the dozen or so resorts comprising the domain of Les Portes du Soleil, Morzine and Les Gets draw real enthusiasm on the part of buyers set on acquiring a holiday home in the mountains here. So why are they so popular ?...

With 650 km of ski-runs and almost 200 ski-lifts, Les Portes du Soleil is one of the largest skiing domains in the world. Straddling the Franco-Swiss border, it offers village resorts on the French side which have succeeded in combining authenticity with attractive, high-performance infrastructures. They include Les Gets and Morzine, where a large-scale cable-car service is scheduled for 2020 linking it with the slopes of Avoriaz in just 8 minutes.

From the top of Chamossière, one can see Lake Geneva to the north, Mont-Blanc to the south, and the Swiss border within easy striking distance. Morzine stands at the heart of this outstanding panoramic scenery, an authentic Savoyard village-resort, nestling in the crook of the Alps. Boasting 50 hotels, two holiday villages, a large aquatic complex, a skating rink, a first division hockey club, and good restaurants, Morzine has become extremely popular over the past few years among well-off clients, often from Switzerland, preferring it to Chamonix or Courchevel. “This clientele is attracted by Morzine’s authenticity,” says Ingrid Maes of the Majestic Immobilier agency. “Boosted by the strength of the pound sterling, leading to a massive return on the part of English buyers, and a very favorable exchange rate for the Swiss, 2015 has been an exceptionally active year thanks to these clients whose purchasing power allows them to invest cash in top-notch chalets. We now have a long waiting-list of buyers looking for 5-bedroomed chalets close to the centre, with budgets ranging from 1 to 1.8 million euros.” A market with a scarcity of properties and prices which have risen 10 % this year, Morzine has a few new developments such as the Joux Plane residence comprised of 10 premium apartments pegged at 10,000 € per sqm. To be delivered in December 2017 and ideally located in the centre, its success is guaranteed. “Prices for new properties are naturally lower the further one gets from the centre,” comments Ingrid Maes. Chalets highly-prized by investors compete with very prestigious apartments : one chalet offering 5 bedrooms (including 4 suites), elegant Savoyard architecture and an impeccable contemporary interior, is on offer at 2.7 million euros.

Also enjoying a boom, Les Gets is a commune with over 1,200 residents on the mountain pass of the same name, 45 minutes from Geneva and its international airport. Its array of assets includes above-average sunshine and snow coverage for this altitude, and a friendly, family-oriented life-style. The result has been an explosion in the sales of properties, placing it on top of the list for price rises at +16.1 % this year, with an average price of 5,710 € per sqm, according to the real-estate barometer published in November by the Chamber of Notaries. Due to rising demand and the penury of availabilities, new developments are doing extremely well. “Sixty out of our last 80 sales concerned new properties,” says Nicolas Thibon, manager of Century 21 Thibon Immobilier, who mentions, for example, the Ambre Blanche residence, currently being marketed, with delivery slated for Christmas, 2017. “With its high-quality appointments and prime location right in the centre, it is meeting with great success. After 3 months of marketing, a score of apartments have already been sold out of the 30 scheduled for construction. 1-bedroomed apartments are proposed from 370,000 €, and 4-bedroomed apartments of 226 m2 at around 2 million euros.” Mainly comprised of apartments, the property market of Les Gets does offer a small number of chalets, those in the best locations worth around 600,000 €.