Skiingproperty.com aims to bring together a portfolio of carefully selected property developments, listing them by resort with full property details and a range of photos. The site also features a blog and glossary to keep buyers informed about the ski property market, and a free downloadable guide to buying an Alpine ski home.
Resorts in which Skiingproperty.com has property for sale, both leaseback and classic freehold, include Courchevel, Méribel, Les Gets, Chatel, Tignes and Val d'Isère in France, and Flims in Switzerland.
‘Ski property has proved to be one of the most buoyant sectors of the overseas property market, with some resorts even seeing price rises this year, unusual in much of Europe in the current climate,’ said director of Skiingproperty.com Julian Walker.
‘ Tight supply and controlled development, combined with huge lifestyle appeal and a strong international market mean ski homes in quality resorts will always be good long-term investments. At Skiingproperty.com we focus solely on new build and off plan projects, which typically offer better capital appreciation than resale properties,’ he added.
He pointed out that buying new or off plan rather than resale property in the French Alps can include the following key benefits:
Buying into a new development early increases the opportunity to benefit from capital appreciation, as units are often sold at a discount and once a project becomes established, demand typically increases, especially as new development sites become harder to come by.
Developers often offer attractive finance deals or payment schemes, which you won't get when purchasing an existing resale property. This is especially appealing at the moment, as French interest rates are currently at record lows.
Buying into a leaseback résidence offers the opportunity to buy and finance a property net of VAT. Leaseback contracts also allow you to choose an option that suits your preferred amount of annual usage.
In France purchase costs for off-plan or new-build are lower than for resale property. If you do buy outright, as from 01 January 2013, sellers of new property less than five years old no longer need to pass on a charge for VAT to a buyer, unless the vendor is VAT registered.
New build property in France comes with a two year exemption of Taxe Foncière, one of France's two types of council tax. Also, new property in the Alps will come with a guarantee from the developer, who will also be obliged to take care of any faults when the new owner takes possession, so called snagging. And new property is built using more energy efficient materials than you find in older resale homes.
‘Skiingproperty.com aims to become a leading promoter of new property in the Alps, offering something for all budgets, whether it be a leaseback apartment in Chatel from €225,000 to luxury chalets in Méribel from €3.25million,’ added Walker.
