Peaks and valleys: Why Alpine property is becoming a permanent play

As climate, lifestyle and security concerns reshape buying habits, the Alps are no longer just a winter escape. Ruth Bloomfield explores why Switzerland’s mountain resorts continue to outperform – and why more owners are choosing to stay for good...

Over the next few weeks, we’re set to become armchair experts on aerials, moguls and half-pipes as the Winter Olympics opens in Milano Cortina, Italy.

Irrespective of who reigns on the slopes, when it comes to ski-worthy real estate, the solid gold Alpine winner is Switzerland. Its combination of draconian controls over second homes and the kudos of being the long-time favoured winter refuge of the ultra-high-net-worth set, means its resorts dominate the latest league tables of outperforming ski locations. Even global warming is working in its favour.

According to Knight Frank’s Alpine Property Report 2026, average prices in the Swiss Alps have increased by 23 per cent in the past five years and more than three per cent in the past year. And of the 10 Alpine locations with the strongest price growth in the year to June 2025, no fewer than six are Swiss.

The newly developed Andermatt resort leads the way with annual price growth of 14.6 per cent, followed by Davos, a perennial favourite with royals and A-list stars, with 10.5 per cent growth.

St Moritz, Gstaad, Villars-sur-Ollon and Klosters have also outperformed, each enjoying growth of between five and 10 per cent.

In an increasingly alarming world, Alex Koch De Gooreynd, Knight Frank’s head of sales in the Swiss Alps, believes the nation’s USP is safety. “They are looking at buying an escape route; it offers that stability which people crave,” he says.

Maximilian Stamm of Engel & Völkers estate agents is based in St Moritz. He believes what sets it, and Switzerland, apart, is its long history of high-end travel. “We have very high standard, five-star resorts,” he says. “And it is a place of extraordinary national beauty.”

Swiss prices are high, led by Gstaad, where prime prices stand at between €42,800 (£37,400)and €47,300 per square metre and St Moritz, at €34,700 to €38,400 per square metre, according to Knight Frank.

Sixty to 70 per cent of Stamm’s prime buyers are from Switzerland, Italy or Germany. The rest are from farther afield, notably those based in North and South America, the United Arab Emirates and the UK. At the ultra-prime level – classed as homes priced above around CHF20 million (£18.6m) – buyers  from these latter three regions are responsible for almost all sales.

In the past, most buyers visited St Moritz for a few weeks’ of skiing each year. Now, Stamm says, it has evolved into a more year-round destination that owners visit out of the ski season in search of respite from record temperatures elsewhere. “They tell me the temperatures in southern Europe are unbearable, the beaches overcrowded,” he says. “St Moritz hits all of the megatrends – nature, hiking and biking, lake swimming and fresh air.”

Some flit back and forth between home and the mountains, but more and more are making the region their permanent home. In the Four Valleys, which covers five resorts including Verbier, the number of permanent residents increased by seven per cent between 2021 and 2025. Foreign nationals now account for more than 17 per cent of the permanent population, and Koch De Gooreynd said resorts have worked hard to encourage this, investing in infrastructure like schools, transport and summer events to attract relocators. Wellness centres, which play into the fresh air and clean-living mountain vibe, are also being funded.

Jeremy Rollason, head of Savills Ski, agrees that owners no longer see the Alps just as a winter destination. “There has been a shift to working from home so people can spend more time in their ski properties,” he says. “People now spend double the amount of time they used to in the mountains.”

Out of ski season, owners can attend cultural events like the Verbier Festival or test their fitness in the Gornergrat Zermatt Marathon. As Stamm says, the hiking and biking is superb, and there are also more adventurous options like canyoning or river rafting. New hotels are upping the wellness ante – The Park Gstaad is being taken over by Four Seasons and will reopen in 2026 with a new spa and fitness centre, plus indoor and outdoor pools, a tennis court and winter ice rink.

There is also a growing crop of branded residences for buyers who want highly serviced homes. Six Senses already has outposts in Courchevel and Crans-Montana. Andermatt has The Chedi, and The POST Hotel & Residences by Elie Saab is due to be completed in 2027.

 Another factor in the strength of the Swiss market is that the government has created one of the most restricted property markets in the world. There are limits on how many properties both international and second-home buyers can purchase, their size and their location, meaning pickings are slim. The only exception is Andermatt, which negotiated an exemption

in return for a CHF1.8 billion investment in regeneration of the village. Its comparatively free property market plus an influx of American buyers may explain its exponential annual price growth.

Stamm believes that this combination of factors means that prices in Switzerland will continue to grow, irrespective of what happens in the rest of the world. “This freight train has left the station,” he says. “It is going to be very hard to halt.”

First published in the February 2026 issue of BOAT International. Get this magazine sent straight to your door, or subscribe and never miss an issue.