French property developer to build more homes
Country: France
13 October 2009 French property developer, MGM, has announced upbeat proposals to build more new French tourist homes in response to strong demand. The housebuilder plans to build almost 400 leaseback ski apartments in four locations – Val Cenis, Flaine, Alpe d’Huez and Tignes – reports Richard Deans, sales consultant in the company’s London-based UK sales office. Deans, who has just returned from a fact-finding tour of the areas in which the new sites are located, is enthusiastic about new approaches which MGM is taking. He is confident that the French property schemes will have wide appeal for UK buyers whose enquiries about the availability of ski properties have soared in the wake of news of the first early snow flurries at high altitude in the French Alps at the end of September. “Traditionally our UK office has secured buyers for around a quarter of the 400 homes on 40 developments sold annually by the MGM Group,” explains Deans. “Although these figures dipped during the recession, demand has held up and MGM has surpassed its sales target for this year without having to reduce prices by more than five to ten per cent. “Enquiries about property in the French Alps have risen steadily in the past six months, despite the fact that the summer is usually the quietest time of year for French Alpine development companies like MGM.” Currently MGM has more than 100 French properties available for sale under the leaseback scheme in ten mountain resorts. In addition, the company has around 280 properties for outright sale in 14 sought-after mountain locations and around Lake Annecy. Deans says that MGM has established a reputation in the UK for high quality design and construction as well as a guaranteed long-term future underlined by a substantial land bank with planning permissions in place. Although full details of the latest new schemes are yet to be announced, Richard revealed that the acquisition of a site for development in Val Cenis provides MGM with the opportunity to offer a new generation of ‘affordable-range’ ski properties in the Haute-Maurienne which, for the company, is a new region of the French Alps, close to the Italian border. Located between two national parks – the Vanoise and Italy’s Gran Paradiso which together create Europe’s largest wilderness area of almost 500sqm – Val Cenis is described by Deans as “charming, unspoilt and, in some ways, a bit of a time-warp.” Right up to date will be MGM’s proposed new four-star residence de tourisme in which 197 apartments are planned. Those in the first phase will be ready for occupation before the end of 2011. As in most MGM residences, facilities will include an indoor pool, fitness suite, gym, sauna, jacuzzi and steam rooms, as well as a beauty centre with a variety of massages and treatments on offer. Due for completion at the same time will be the MGM development at Flaine. Described as state-of-the-art in terms of sustainability and fuel economy, the residence de tourisme will embrace the principles of HQE (Haute Qualité Environmental), the international construction industry’s high environmental quality standard which aims to integrate the principles of sustainable development defined at the 1992 Earth Summit. MGM regards its development at Flaine, designed by leading Parisian architect Hauvette & Associates, as a significant step in its commitment to reduce energy consumption. Flaine, the gateway to one of the biggest ski and snowboard areas in France – Le Grand Massif with 144 connected pistes – boasts one of the best snow records in the French Alps. The MGM development of 66 sunny south-facing apartments and duplexes – some specially adapted to meet the needs of disabled occupiers – will be located at the heart of Flaine’s pedestrianised ’sixties-built ski resort which, at the time is was completed, was hailed as an “architectural jewel.” In addition to what Richard describes as “awesome skiing,” a host of other outdoor activities will be available on the doorstep of the new 68-apartment residence planned by MGM at Alpe d’Huez in the Central Alps region. The location of the finishing line for one of the stages of the Tour de France almost every year since 1976, Alpe d’Huez is a resort which appeals to walkers, climbers and cyclists, as well as skiers. The new MGM residence will be located close to the ski slopes and within easy reach of restaurants, shops and resort facilities including an open-air heated pool, tennis courts and sports halls. The fourth new scheme is the sixth to be built by MGM in Tignes where the company has been active for more than ten years. Located alongside La Ferme du Val Claret – one of MGM’s most successful developments in the resort – the new residence of up to 40 apartments will open at the end of 2011. Meanwhile, some 17 tower cranes on the Alpine skyline signal the way in which MGM is working to keeping pace with demand, with five new schemes on schedule for completion within the next few weeks – in time for Christmas – and several more on the way, thanks to continuing high levels of off-plan sales.
See Also: France, MGM, Ski property
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