Brain Enhancement
Swiss Ski Property On A Roll
By Jim Barnaby
Feb 15, 2008

While the lightening afternoon skies may make many investors think ahead towards summer and dream of places with sun kissed-beaches, many have not forgotten that it is still, despite the floral evidence to the contrary in Britain, winter.

Up on high Alpine slopes, of course, the situation is a bit different. Last year's exceptionally mild winter has been avoided and the ski slopes are covered in winter sports fanatics again.

Just as importantly, the Swiss ski resorts property are due to see plenty of interest from those looking to buy investment in Swiss property, according to Steve Thomas, managing director of Alpine Property Investments.

Predicting that chalets will be popular in the country with its ongoing "chic appeal" this year, Mr Thomas said his firm was "seeing a significant increase in investors wanting to buy in Canton Vaud - closer to Geneva which includes resorts such as Villars, Gstaad, Les Diablerets and Leysin".

This was despite some new laws making the buying of second homes harder, he stated.

One factor which may help investors is price. The Sunday Times stated at the weekend that there are very affordable ski properties which actually lie within just a few miles of Gstaad.

Writer Peter Conradi noted that top-end resorts such as St Moritz, Klosters and Gstaad itself were highly expensive, filled with multi-million pound properties owned by famous individuals such as Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone and actresses Elizabeth Taylor and Julie Andrews. Yet despite this the prices were far lower outside these exclusive locations. The examples he gave included a new apartment block in the village of Chateau-d'Oex, former home of actor David Niven, where prices for apartments started at £311,000.

Other locations can be even less expensive. The Open Press has reported that apartments in the new Thermes Parc ski resort, developed by David Stanley Redfern, are going for just over £162,000. These, the company states, are located among facilities including elements such as a river, waterfall, grotto and swimming pool.

Thus Switzerland is offering a wide range of prices, it appears, to suit different budgets. True, the most famous resorts will be out of the reach for all but a few, which could be a disappointment for those who fancy celebrity spotting royals, sporting icons and stars of stage and screen. But the popularity of investment, as Steve Thomas has stated, remains. It may take more than one bad winter to put off investors in Swiss ski property.

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