At the crossroads of some of the world's finest ski resorts, Moûtiers has a potential, particularly for investment, that is all too often underestimated.
"Moûtiers is a strategic gateway and deserves to be better known," says Natacha Ract, property consultant for Foncia Tarentaise. The town is a crossroads from which you can reach the 3 Vallées resorts (Courchevel, Méribel, Les Ménuires, Val Thorens, etc.) as well as Pralognan-la-Vanoise, Valmorel, Aime-la-Plagne and Champagny-en-Vanoise.
That's why Moûtiers, a small town with just 3,500 inhabitants, has a station served by the TGV and Eurostar! High-speed trains from Paris, Lille and Nantes enable thousands of skiers to reach the most beautiful ski resorts in Savoie during the winter. "Moûtiers is the historic capital of the Tarentaise region, and a stopover town for the Tour de France... It also has a number of renowned educational establishments," says Natacha Ract.
The town's location, reputation and facilities are now helping to boost its property market, which has been slow to take off, not least because Moûtiers is located at the bottom of the Isère valley, surrounded by mountains, which reduce its amount of sunshine.
According to the Notaires de France, the median price of an old flat is €1,810 per m²*. An old house costs €2,870 per m². A far, far cry from the prices a little higher up... But the town has unsuspected potential.
Strong rental demand
In Moûtiers, there is a high demand for rental accommodation, particularly for seasonal workers employed in the surrounding resorts. "The high altitude villages are desperately short of accommodation to rent. So seasonal workers and their employers are looking for solutions further down in the valley, particularly in Moûtiers", explains Natacha Ract.
As a result, more and more investors have taken an interest in the town in recent years. "They've realised that it has rental or capital gains potential," she adds. And there's no shortage of opportunities here. Most of the housing stock is ageing and in need of renovation. Many properties have poor energy ratings and will therefore soon be off-limits to tenants (i.e. EPDs F and G).
"There are properties that need to be completely refurbished, that can be snapped up for €1,200 per square metre, and that can be resold for around €2,000 per square metre once they've been refurbished," she notes.
Good rental yields
For rental investors, Moûtiers combines reasonable purchase prices with good rental levels. Rental yields of around 8% gross can be expected. This is a level of performance that is hard to find in the Tarentaise and, more generally, in the Pays de Savoie region, where the value of real estate has risen sharply in recent years. Moûtiers is definitely an excellent investment for the future.
* Notaires de France statistics based on sales contracts signed between April 2022 and March 2023.
Translation provided by DeepL.com
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