The Italian city of Cortina d’Ampezzo, in the Dolomite Alps, is finalizing the details to host the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, an event that has already had its impact on housing in the area, which has become more expensive by 10% in the last year, according to the international consulting firm Knight Frank. Even so, the values per square meter, between 19,500 and 21,500 euros, are still between 30% and 40% below those of St. Moritz (Switzerland), one of the most expensive real estate markets in the Alps, along with Gstaad (Switzerland) and Courchevel 1850 (France). For example, one million euros can barely buy a 22 square meter studio in Gstaad (where prices range from 39,400 to 43,600 euros per square meter for the most expensive segment), while the same budget is enough for a 102 square meter property in Morzine, in the French Alps. The alpine real estate market exemplifies the metamorphosis that ski resorts around the world are trying to undergo: they seek to become deseasonalized to survive climate change and the consequent retreat of snow. It is about selling that the Alps are no longer just winter destinations for skiing, but full-time residential refuges and that, together with supply limitations (regulatory and physical), sustains the rise in house prices. Prime (high-level) homes in Alpine ski resorts have appreciated 23% in five years, distancing themselves from the slowdown observed in other international markets, according to Knight Frank. «Demand is transforming thanks to teleworking, the search for nature, well-being, community and disconnection. 73% of high-net-worth individuals surveyed state that they would consider moving to live in the Alps all year round,» the company indicates. Spanish mountain resorts also want to stop being markets that live in hibernation. The landscape, the lifestyle, disconnection or summer activities (hiking, cycling, nature tourism) are gaining ground and this is seen in the increasing pressure of tourist housing, the rise of foreign investors and new models of luxury homes of shared ownership. The more months the valley lives, the more prices rise, although the intensity of the increases in the snow real estate market, especially for sale, is being milder than that registered in the large provincial capitals and destinations of beach. In any case, the price increase is gradual and it must be taken into account that the market in ski resorts is usually very fragmented: there are luxury homes, but there are also more affordable and simple apartments. An analysis of the real estate portal Fotocasa, to which EL PAÍS has had access in advance, puts figures and names to the homes around national ski resorts. The average increase in apartments for sale in the last two years is 8% and 6% in the case of chalets. Rent is a different issue: “In just two years, the price of apartments for rent has increased by 25%, while the rent of houses has increased by 43%,” indicates María Matos, Director of Studies and spokesperson for the portal. The stations of Baqueira Beret (in the Arán valley, Lleida), Ordino Arcalís, Vallnord Pal Arinsal and Granvalira (in Andorra), record the highest prices: apartments located within a 20-kilometer radius sell for more than 6,500 euros per square meter. Baqueira Beret—the jewel in the crown, especially in its highest or prime part—is ground zero of a phenomenon that mixes national capital with high purchasing power, foreign investors and new models of fractional co-ownership (luxury houses are legally divided into eight parts). An example is that of the Vivla firm, which manages 22 homes under this model in Baqueira Beret. The company highlights the strong growth of the mountain real estate market. “This area is opening up to new seasons, since the summer occupancy of the homes already reaches 94%,” the company indicates. Although Fotocasa registers that there are apartments for 3,615 euros per square meter, the average value increases considerably if some luxury developments are taken into account, such as the three homes under development in Baqueira 1500, with walking access to the ski lifts. Each house, measuring 315 square meters, is sold for 2.4 million euros. According to the Idealista portal, the average price in the area stood at 7,229 euros per square meter in October and registered an increase of 25.5% compared to the same month of the previous year. You have to go to other slopes in the Catalan Pyrenees and also in Aragon to find lower prices: between 3,500 and 3,000 euros per square meter. In the case of the first, Vall de Núria stands out (with apartments for an average cost of 3,114 euros per square meter), Vallter 2000 (3,041 euros), La Masella (3,023 euros) and La Molina (2,976 euros). In Aragon, these prices are found in Panticosa (where there are homes for an average cost of 3,230 euros per square meter) and Formigal (2,957). Outside the Pyrenees, prices are quite moderate. In Sierra Nevada, in the municipality of Monachil (Granada), there is product for 2,935 euros per square meter. And in the Madrid resorts of Puerto de Navacerrada (2,492 euros) and Valdesquí (2,455), as well as in Valdezcaray (1,366), in La Rioja, the cheapest properties are located. «Andorran resorts concentrate the highest prices because they combine several structural factors such as a highly valued natural environment, a small housing stock and strong international demand. However, outside the Pyrenean mountain range, we find less tense markets and a more diversified buyer profile,» says Matos.
Baqueira Beret
Regarding the snow rental market, Baqueira Beret registers the highest rents. An apartment located within a radius of 20 kilometers has an average price of 46 euros per month per square meter. This means that a 90-meter apartment can cost more than 4,100 euros per month in this season, in which the majority of the offer is seasonal and not long-term. For half you can rent it at one of the three stations located in the Principality of Andorra: Granvalira (27 euros per square meter per month), Ordino Arcalís (26) and Vallnord Pal Arinsal (26), according to Fotocasa. “The increases reflect the growing competition for increasingly scarce rentals in an environment of leisure and exclusivity,” says Matos. There are more discounts in the Aragonese resorts of Cerler (22 euros) and Panticosa (15 euros), in the Catalan resort of Tavascan (20 euros) and in the Asturian track of Valgrande-Pajares (19 euros). Beyond the Pyrenees, rental prices decrease significantly. In the case of apartments, Sierra Nevada registers average rents at 11 euros per square meter per month, similar to Puerto de Navacerrada or Valdesquí (with an offer for 12 euros), in Madrid.
