Savills Alpine Property Report Winter 2018/2019

We pick out the highlights from the latest Alpine Property report from Savills, Ski Property Market Experts, and international Estate Agents

The Future for Ski Resorts and the Ski Property Market

Savills believes the ski property industry faces unpredecented challenges, due to unpredictable snowfall and weather patterns plus the challenges of an ageing target demographic, limited housing stock and lack of space to build ski new properties.

With challenge comes opportunity and the chance for innovation. Ski resorts around the world are constantly working out ways to stay relevant, and those which evolve and adapt to the changing needs of consumers are going to come out on top.

Concerns raised by inconsist snowfall, climate change and global warming mean ski resorts are having to reinvent themselves to maintain visitor levels and Savills uses each ski resorts reaction to change as property growth indicators in the latest Alpine Property Report.

What Must Ski Resorts Consider to Remain Relevant?

Summer Tourism In The Alps

Simply put, if winter-only destinations can expand their appeal to attract tourists year-round, visitor numbers could double. The summer season is an ideal opportunity to increase revenue and acts as an insurance policy for shorter winters (caused by climate change). Many ski resorts in France such as Chamonix, Morzine and Tignes have successfully branded themselves as go-to summer destinations for climbers, mountain bikers and hikers with summer visitor numbers approaching (and in some cases exceeding) the number of winter visitors.

Find Ski Property To Buy In Chamonix
Find Ski Property To Buy In Morzine

Millennial Appeal Of Ski Resorts

At the moment, two-thirds of visitors to ski resorts are aged between 43-65. Baby boomers who have long been the key demographic of ski resorts are slowly ageing, and skiing less. As a result, visitor numbers are stagnating and will potentially fall. Increasing the appeal for younger visitors can be done in several ways and ski resorts popular with millennials have already implemented a few changes. These include: enabling free WIFI everywhere from ski lifts to the piste, in the Swiss ski resort of Verbier, embracing social media as a marketing channel, improving information communication with apps and the creation of winter music festivals, such as Musilac in Chamonix and Snowboxx in Avoriaz. Going forward, innovation in ski and snowboard lessons is a must. Teaching techniques need to be improved if the industry is going to build a new client base.

Ski Property For Sale In Verbier
Ski Property For Sale In Chamonix

Wellness and Well-Being In Ski Resorts

Wellness is one trend that is embraced by all age groups. Around the world, individuals are placing a higher value on health and well-being. Holiday makers are searching for health-focused travel experiences and the ski industry is taking note. From wellness retreats to five-star spas, there is a rise in the number of holidays that combine skiing with yoga and well-being. Food also plays an important role in this, and there has been a move away from the traditional cheese-heavy dishes as the demand for clean eating and vegan menus increases.

The Top 5 Thermal Spas in The Alps

Shorter Ski Trips

The traditional week-long ski trips are becoming a thing of the past as visitors look to weekend trips instead. Between 2006 and 2016 ski trips of 5 nights or less increased by 109%. Ski resorts with better transport links or with planned investment into better infrastructure to shorten transfer times will attract more visitors in the future.

Global Ski Property Prices

Which Ski Resorts have the Most Expensive Prime and Super-Prime Ski Properties?

Although the Alps is the biggest ski destination in the world with 43% of global annual skier visits, it is the US resort of Aspen which took out the top spot for highest property value per m2 thanks to its popularity with celebrities and hedge fund managers. Overall, Switzerland dominated the list with 9 resorts in the Top 20, with French ski resorts following close behind.

The American ski resort of Aspen tops the price league, closely followed by Val d'Isere, which has overtaken Courchevel 1850 and St Moritz as Europe's most expensive ski resort for prime or super-prime ski property. 

Buy Ski Property In Val d'Isere
Buy Ski Property in Courchevel

Buyer and Renter Trends For Ski Property

Renting is Important to Cover Costs

Around 79% of ski property owners rent out their ski home, with 49% citing their main reason to help cover costs, while 42% do it to for additional income.

Owners Keep their Property Occupied for Most of the Winter Season

In the winter 2017/18, ski property owners rented out their properties for an average of 11 weeks, and occupied the property themselves for an average of 4 weeks. This means a 75% occupancy rate based on a 20-week season.

More Can be Done to Meet Renters Needs with Ski Property

The most important factors to renters are: internet, proximity to shops and an allocated parking space yet just 41%, 44% and 38% of properties offer these respectively.

Which Ski Resorts are Most Resilient?

The Alps saw some of the heaviest snowfall in years in the 2017/18 ski season following a number of years of historically low snow levels. In the USA and Canada, the 2016/17 season had one of the largest snowfalls on record but very little snow in 2017/18. Weather patterns appear to be changing and becoming more unpredictable. The Savills Ski Resilience Index ranks major global ski resorts to measure the quality and reliability of a resorts conditions and its resilience to climate change. The five-metrics used to measure this are: snowfall, reliability, season length, altitude and temperature.