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Brexit Has Not Dampened Demand for Alpine Ski Chalets

Gstaad witnessed the largest annual jump in ski chalet prices

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Gstaad has long been a popular haunt of the rich and famous.

Harold Cunningham / Getty Images
Gstaad has long been a popular haunt of the rich and famous.
Harold Cunningham / Getty Images

For now, the Brexit has not dampened demand for ski chalets among the world’s wealthy, but the declining number of snow-loving baby boomers could hit prices and sales in the future.

According to global real estate agency Knight Frank’s annual snapshot of Alpine ski resorts released Monday, the U.K.’s decision in June to leave the European Union has not led to a sudden market downturn or caused sales in their early stage of negotiation to fall through.

More:Governments Using Levers to Cool or Restart Foreign Buyers’ Market

Its report found that sellers in Europe are less reliant on British demand, as there is a broader cohort of buyers with new wealth emanating from Asia and the Middle East, which is filtering into the "lifestyle" market—be it ski homes, vineyards or boutique hotels.

"Summer is usually a quiet period for enquiries and it will be hard to accurately gauge demand until November, but enquiries have remained largely static in July and August compared with the same period in 2015," Kate Everett-Allen, a partner at Knight Frank, said.

However, the firm cautioned that the European ski industry is facing a challenge: an expected generational downturn as the snow-loving baby boomers in the west decline in number.

Knight Frank believes millennials are more transitory in nature and that while some will show allegiance to one resort, acquire a base in the mountains and return time and again, others may opt to rent in a different resort each season.

The report also found that Gstaad in Switzerland, famous for being a playground for the snow-loving elite, witnessed the biggest jump in house prices of any alpine ski resorts on the back of a severe lack of stock.

Prices rose 13% in the year to June in the picturesque village in the Bernese Oberland despite the strength of the Swiss Franc and tight restrictions on foreign buyers.

More:Ski Homes: Peak Time to Buy

In second and third places were Val d’Isere and Chamonix in France, which saw prices rise on average by 5.9% and 5% respectively over the 12-month period. At -5.8%, Villars in Switzerland witnessed the biggest drop. Overall, the index increased by 1.8% in the year to June, more than reversing the 1% decline recorded last year.

"Unlike in 2015 when the French resorts dominated the top half of the rankings, and with Swiss options dominating the lower half, this year there is no clear division between the two countries," said Ms. Everett-Allen.

"We expect most resorts to see marginal price movements in the next 12 months. Switzerland may prove the exception to the rule, particularly those resorts where inventories."

Ski resort Price growth
Gstaad 13.30%
Val d'Isère 5.90%
Chamonix 5%
Courchevel 1650 3.4%
Courchevel 1550 3%
Meribel 2.8%
Klosters 1.9%
Davos 1.8%
St Moritz 0.8%
St Gervais 0%
Courchevel 1850 0%
Verbier 0%
Crans Montana -1%
Megeve -3.6%
Villars -5.8%

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