Jeremy Rollason, head of Savills Ski, commented, “Given Covid-19, some may have expected the current uncertainty would bring the growth we’ve witnessed over the past decade to a grinding halt, and that property transactions would dry up. But with global ski visitor numbers up for the second successive year, and our own transactional volumes also up compared to 2019, our analysis shows that ski markets have remained resilient. 

“It is notable that property prices in the top ten most expensive prime ski resorts actually saw an annual increase of 7.2%, despite the impact of the global pandemic.”

 

The average prime residential values in ski resorts can match, or even exceed those seen in major cities. Prime values in Courchevel 1850 and Val D’Isère are both higher than in Paris, for example, by around 60% and 30% respectively. Further down the price league, values in Saas-Fee are comparable to Lisbon and values in the Italian resort of Cervinia are comparable to Madrid.

Ski resorts will need to grapple with the challenge of climate change beyond Covid-19 and the resorts most resilient to these challenges could prove the most attractive going forward. For the last four years, Savills has tracked the resilience of ski resorts using five metrics to measure the quality and reliability of  resort’s conditions, and its resilience against climate change. 

The same six resorts have topped the Savills Ski Resilience Index since 2017 and are in a league of their own in terms of resilience. The Swiss resorts of Zermatt and Saas-Fee have stayed in first and second place respectively, predominantly due to their location in a high-mountain glacier environment.

Glenshee and Glencoe are new additions in this year’s resilience index. The Scottish resorts perhaps unsurprisingly, rank as the bottom two resorts overall, in 60th and 61st place respectively. 

 

Looking ahead, Savills has compared the outlook for ten key resorts in the Alps by a range of factors which are likely to influence prime property prices in the longer term. 

 

Many factors can influence price growth. The main sources considered are: the level of supply in each resort, the openness to international buyers, and the resort’s resilience to climate change. Also included, with a lesser weighting, are the national economic forecasts, the proximity to transport hubs, and the presence of branded residences. 

 

Sophie Chick, head of Savills World Research, said, “While Covid-19 is restricting travel to ski resorts in many parts of the world, it is also causing some lifestyle changes that are likely to benefit ski resorts once the pandemic has past. Namely, a rise in remote working and an increased appreciation for the natural environment.

 

“This could benefit all ski resorts in the long term, but supply, openness to international buyers and resilience to climate change will also be important factors. We therefore expect Andermatt, Chamonix and Zell am See to see the strongest relative prime growth over the next five years.”