In 2030 the Winter Olympics is returning to the French Alps for the first time since 1992. What could this mean for ski property owners here?
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has chosen the French Alps as the 2030 Olympic and Paralympic Games host. While the decision is provisional following the recent French election and pending a new government in France, at present the IOC is satisfied with President Macron’s assurances that all will be agreed.
This is the fourth time that France will have hosted the Winter Olympics but the first time since Albertville in 1992. With Paris 2024 such a success, the organisers believe that France it is well placed to channel the same energy and creativity into French Alps 2030.
History shows that there are benefits to hosting a Games, whether winter or summer, that even transcend the occasional grumbles heard before they start. These include infrastructure upgrades, a great deal of publicity and possibly an increase in property values.
Plans for French Alps 2030
Greener, cleaner and more accessible
French Alps 2030 ( Alpes Françaises 2030) will take place between 8th and 24th February. They beat off bids from Salt Lake City, Stockholm and Switzerland, while Vancouver and Barcelona/Zaragoza withdrew their bids.
They will include major events hosted in Nice (such as the skating and ice hockey), at Briançon including the freestyle skiing and snowboarding, in the Savoie region with bobsleigh and Alpine skiing in resorts such as Méribel and Courchevel, and with cross-country skiing in the Haute-Savoie.
The fact that so many previous hosts were keen to host again suggest that the Games are positive for a city and resort. And there are certain improvements that the organisers have already alluded to. The IOC is trying to make the Games more environmentally friendly. French Alps 2030 will be the first Games where organisers must make an attempt to make them carbon-negative. In France they are anyway halfway there, with 22 resorts already holding a ‘Green Snowflake’ certification for commitment to sustainability.
Secondly, they will be more accessible. In the press release, the President of the French Paralympic Committee, Marie-Amélie Le Fur, said that there would be a particular emphasis on improving infrastructure so that disabled people can participate in sports. This is not just helpful to people with disabilities but often to younger and older skiers too, opening up otherwise inaccessible resorts to a new market of holidaymakers.
Even with France’s already established reputation as a skiing hotspot, the Games will bring a wider, even more international interest to the French Alps and what they can offer skiers.
The economic impact of the Winter Olympics
The Winter Olympics has a legacy of boosting the local economy, in terms of tourism, employment and infrastructure. For example, data provided by the IOC shows that as a direct result of Beijing 2022, more than 346 million people engaged in winter sports, with funds ploughed into 700+ ski resorts in China.
As the head of the last French Winter Olympics said of Albertville: “Without the Olympic Games, it would have taken us 20 years to do the projects we have finished in four years”.
For Vancouver 2010, Canada invested in a rapid transit line between the airport and the city centre. Salt Lake City also saw major investment in infrastructure, with every venue made for the Games still in use.
Turin, claims the IOC, completely reinvented itself for the Games in 2006 with an enormous impact on tourism to the city. Before the Games, claims the IOC, Turin barely had a million visitors a year, after the Games, this number shot up to six million and it became Italy’s fourth busiest tourist city Rome, Florence and Venice. Plus, prior to the Games, only 40% of visitors to its main ski area were international and this became 85%.
Before Beijing 2022, most wealthy Chinese skiers headed to Japan for the fix. According to Knight Frank, in the five years leading up to 2025, the Chinese mainland will become home to an additional 3.3 million high-net-worth individuals. This is in part down to the development of the luxury ski scene, spurred by the Winter Olympics.
A boom for short-term rentals
Short-term rentals located close to the Games do exceedingly well. According to Business Insider, listings for short-term rentals on Airbnb in Paris soared by 44% in the last year. Airbnb’s marketing campaign suggested that holidaymakers steer clear of the more touristy areas of Paris and opt for the more Parisian feel of short-term rentals. Ski property owners will be well placed to take advantage of a similar sentiment come 2030.
New housing
Another benefit is the building of new homes in the Olympic Village. In Vancouver the Olympic Village has 1,100 residential units as well as parks and shops, sold off by the city at a profit.
Plans for French Alps 2030 include new Olympic villages in Nice, Savoie and Haute Savoie. These will become available to buy afterwards. Will they be of good quality? There’s no reason why not, said the Oxford Olympics Study of 2024, the writers pointing out that: “The biggest objection we hear to reusing and repeating modules is the mental image of prefabricated 1970s-1980s housing projects. But nothing could be further from the truth with today's technology, materials, and build quality.”
The impact on ski property values
To assess the impact of European Winter Games on prices, what happened the last time France held the Olympics in Albertville? Pre-1992, some saw Haute Savoie as the poor relation of France’s ski areas, but not anymore. Today, property prices in Haute-Savoie average just under €10,000 per square metre, which is at the more affordable end of France’s premier ski areas but certainly not struggling any more.
Even just the announcement of the Games is likely to see a surge in property values in the French Alps and not just from buyers keen to get a front row chalet to the Games. Property prices can arise in advance of the Games, but also afterwards. Prices around London’s Olympic stadium rose by 106% in the decade after 2012. In a comparison of Olympic host cities by Savills, Rio saw its strongest price growth in the run up to 2015. And by 2016, prices were 216% above market levels.
These were starting from a fairly low base as the Games were seen as revitalising poorer areas. But there is also evidence that Paris is experiencing a surge in demand for luxury properties. Property buyers eyeing up a home in the French Alps would be wise to act fast.
There are dissenting opinions. A report from the University of British Columbia Business School found no evidence of longer-term price rises from the Winter Games in Calgary (1988), Salt Lake City (2002) or Vancouver (2010). However, the author, a gold-medal winning Olympian himself, noted: ““the Games still present a very real opportunity to celebrate excellence, athleticism and human achievement. The societal impact of valuing the Olympic ideals goes far beyond economics and politics.”
And bear in mind that those cities are keen to host again.
The French Alps hosting the 2030 Winter Olympics presents a unique opportunity for ski property owners. With increased demand, rising property values, and a focus on sustainability, those investing in the region stand to benefit from this exciting event.
