Val d'Isère is more expensive than Courchevel, and in Megève the villas cost more than the flats. VERA PI has gone through every sale in the French Alps' ski resorts since 2021. Here is what the figures show.
In this story · 4 sections
The French Alps are one of Europe's most sought-after markets for holiday homes, yet there are few open figures on what the properties actually sell for. VERA PI has gone through the French tax authority's register of property transactions, DVF, for every municipality in Savoie and Haute-Savoie. The figures below cover January 2021 to June 2026, and a median requires a minimum of ten sales.
It's another way of reading the mountains than pistes and lifts. The figures show which resorts have become the most expensive, where prices are rising and where they are falling, and how large a proportion of the resorts stand empty for much of the year. Everything can be found, address by address, on VERA PI's map of Savoie and Haute-Savoie.
01Val d'Isère is the most expensive for flats
The most unexpected result is that Val d'Isère, not Courchevel, has the highest median price for flats: 12,500 euros per square metre for the entire period. Over the twelve months up to June 2026, the median has risen to 14,702 euros, 18.4 per cent more than twelve months earlier, calculated on 113 sales. The village is situated high up, the season is long and supply is limited.
Courchevel comes second with 10,862 euros, followed by Les Allues, where Méribel is located, with 10,192 euros. In Courchevel, the median price per square metre for flats over the last twelve months has been 11,846 euros, 6.3 per cent lower than the previous year. In Les Allues, it has risen by 9.9 per cent to 11,410 euros.
02Megève and Chamonix: the villa market
In most ski resorts, flats are more expensive per square metre than houses, since they are located closest to the lifts. Megève and Chamonix are the exceptions. In Megève, villas and houses have a median of 14,583 euros per square metre, compared with 9,184 euros for flats. In Chamonix, the figures are 12,242 and 8,884 euros. It is the detached chalets on the slopes, with views of Mont Blanc, that are the sought-after properties.
Chamonix is also the most liquid market among the ski resorts in our review, with 2,019 sales since 2021. This is because Chamonix is a town with year-round residents: only 69 per cent of the properties are second homes, compared with over 80 per cent in the purpose-built ski resorts. See VERA PI's page on Megève and Chamonix.
At a glance
Flats, median per square metre
| Municipality (resort) | 2021–2026 | Last 12 months | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Val d'Isère | 12,500 € | 14,702 € | +18.4% |
| Courchevel | 10,862 € | 11,846 € | −6.3% |
| Les Allues (Méribel) | 10,192 € | 11,410 € | +9.9% |
| Megève | 9,184 € | 9,304 € | −3.1% |
| Chamonix-Mont-Blanc | 8,884 € | 10,171 € | +6.2% |
| Tignes | 8,014 € | 9,928 € | +5.0% |
| Morzine | 7,151 € | 7,362 € | −4.3% |
| Les Belleville (Val Thorens) | 6,901 € | 7,610 € | −3.0% |
| Saint-Gervais-les-Bains | 4,784 € | 5,348 € | +5.0% |
The change applies to the twelve months up to June 2026 compared with the preceding twelve months. Everything is based on VERA PI's processing of DVF.
03The resorts that stand empty
The figures on holiday homes say just as much as the prices. In Les Belleville, 89 per cent of dwellings are holiday homes, in Val d'Isère and Les Allues 88, in Morzine 86, in Tignes 85, in Courchevel 84 and in Megève 83 per cent. This means that the resorts essentially consist of homes that stand empty for large parts of the year, and that the permanent population is small: 1,572 people in Val d'Isère, 1,750 in Les Allues, 2,295 in Courchevel.
In the towns in the valley, the picture is different. In Annecy, only 7 per cent of homes are second homes and the median flat price is 5,087 euros per square metre, while in Évian-les-Bains on Lake Geneva the figures are 28 per cent and 4,660 euros. Read more on VERA PI's page about Annecy.
At a glance
Holiday homes and sales
| Municipality | Holiday homes | Sold since 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| Les Belleville | 89% | 1,748 |
| Val d'Isère | 88% | 659 |
| Les Allues | 88% | 978 |
| Courchevel | 84% | 895 |
| Megève | 83% | 1,517 |
| Chamonix-Mont-Blanc | 69% | 2,019 |
04How to read the figures
A median price per square metre for an entire municipality conceals major differences. In Courchevel, both Le Praz and 1850 are included, and in Les Belleville both Val Thorens and Saint-Martin. The most expensive addresses are also often sold via companies or without public advertising, and are therefore not always visible as property transactions in the register. Anyone wishing to compare street by street can do so on VERA PI's municipality pages, where every address is shown with the sales around it.
VERA PI has also compiled its review of the market in the book Buying in the French Alps. More destinations can be found among metromode.co's destinations.
