Carinthia, Austria
Velden, Austria
When it comes to affordable ski properties or the best dual-season mountain homes, Austria is hard to beat.
Beautiful Alpine villages built on centuries of traditional hospitality – naturally that bit more welcoming than either the French or the Swiss – provide family-friendly bases for great outdoors orientated holidays.
Many ski villages are even busier in the summer months when hiking and biking are especially popular.
Never having experienced the property speculation of some French or Swiss resorts, prices of homes have remained stable and affordable – the country practically avoided recession –and it’s the current buoyancy of the markets in many areas which makes it more popular than ever with British buyers.
Ski chalets can be bought for half the price of comparables in heavily restricted Switzerland, and only a few select resorts in the Tirol and Vorarlberg provinces (such as Kitzbuhel) restrict purchase by foreign buyers. EU citizens can buy and live permanently anywhere; it is only holiday homes which are are regulated.
Although popular with European aristocrats a century ago, the spa town of Bad Gastein has been quietly gaining in popularity with the British over recent years and there are several reasons for this.
Seventy minutes’ drive from Salzburg, it is accessible for weekends and as a year-round town it ticks all the boxes: access to the decent Gastein ski area, elegant architecture, good restaurants, great wellness facilities based around the thermal springs and a good base for exploring the valley.
Apartments predominate property options: new-build or converted historical buildings; expect to pay around €100K (£85K) for a studio; €180K (£153K) for a two-bed apartment; around €320K (£271K) for three beds.
Next up is the popular and historic resort of Zell am See, which offer truly dual-season living with its lakefront location and great ski area (with the Kaprun glacier).
The family-friendly Salzburgerland resort – 90 mins by train from Salzbburg - is brimming with new developments, from £78k studios in hotels to high-end apartments for over £500k.
You can buy a new-build two-bed apartment from around £230k, or a 3-bed resale for nearer £280 if you are lucky.
Finally, Gerlosplatte is a good choice if you seek a ski in-ski out property without breaking the bank. This little ski resort is not widely known in the UK but offers everything one could want, 75 mins from Innsbruck.
It’s only eight minutes up from the attractive riverside town of Gerlos, but being on the border of the Tyrol, you can avoid renting.
New-build four-bed chalets sell for around €500K (£424K); apartments from €175K (£148K). Where else can you get a ski in-ski out home for that?
This is relatively straightforward, with a notary acting on behalf of both vendor and buyer, and overseeing the signing of the deed of sale by both parties.
Budget six to seven per cent for purchase costs (stamp duty, Land Registry, Notary fees) and mortgages are typically 60 per cent LTV in this credit-cautious nation, with the interest rate around three per cent. You can save 20 per cent VAT on the purchase price if you rent out your new-build.
Although foreign buyers are free to buy in most areas, there is often some kind of rental obligation on properties purchased. This varies from something loosely enforced – to making minimal efforts to make your home available for rent – to tourism focused developments with a specified number of weeks usage.