Albertville Property Insight

Albertville is a 18,900-inhabitant French town, located in the Savoie department and in the Rhone-Alpes region. At the heart of the Alps, the town is at the crossroads of the Tarentaise, Beaufortain and Arly Valleys, in the Combe de Savoie; which explains its nickname of “Crossroads of the Four Valleys” (Carrefour des Quatre Vallées). Its location and its mountain assets enabled Albertville to welcome the 1992 Winter Olympic Games. This event made Albertville worldwide renowned, and has been a real springboard for its economical development.

Overview

Since its further origins, and thanks to its location, Albertville has always been a land of exchange and meetings. Since its creation, in 1835, the town has developed through trade exchanges between France, Italy and Switzerland. During the course of the centuries, the town has followed the history events of the Savoy area. It first belonged to the Savoy Duchy, and was then annexed to the French territory in 1801 by Bonaparte. At this time it was temporarily named as Conflans. In 1835, again under the Sardinia Kingdom control, the King of Sardinia Charles-Albert, merged the Conflans and Hôpital villages in order to create Albertville.

After it became definitely French, in 1860, many monuments were built, such as the sous préfecture, the Palais de Justice which is nowadays the Olympic Games House, the St Jean Baptiste Church, and the railway station. No many changes were made until 1986, year in which Albertville obtained the organisation of the 16th Winter Olympic Games. The town hall quarter was totally destroyed to be replaced by a huge square opened towards the medieval cité of Conflans: this is the Europe square. An Italian style theatre and a multimedia library close the square.

Albertville Immobilier & Property Market Trends

Even though Albertville used to be a very dynamic town, nowadays it is more a quiet place where the property market is not in a rush. In Albertville most of dwellings are apartments, 76%, against 23% of detached-houses. Moreover, 42% of inhabitants are landlords, while tenants represent 76%; hence the town offers great rental opportunities. In general, in the Savoie department, house prices are relatively low compared to the national average. While in France in general, house prices are around €3,197 /sq m, in Savoie they are around €2,995 /sq m. Albertville is not an exception; for instance, an apartment ranges between €2,200 and €2,900 /sq m.

To get updated info about property prices in Savoie, please browse our French Property Market Reports published in the News Section every month.

4 Reasons to Buy a Property in Albertville

• Culture, art and historical heritage: when you enter in Conflans, one of the two villages merged to create Albertville, you enter in history. Its streets and back-alleys remain the same as during the Duchy of Savoy Kingdom. Nowadays, Conflans is the heart of the town, where both, the Albertvillois and the Conflarains like to meet. Flowered houses, that used to be workshops or former shops, are now art or handcraft galleries, cafés or restaurants. If you pass through the Europe square, do not miss to visit the Italian style theatre and the multimedia library. The first one wears a copper cupola which has a little steeple. You will be surprised by the eye-deceiving that decorate houses around these two monuments!

• Tranquillity and scenery: Albertville is a very quiet place that boasts beautiful landscapes and views. In Conflans, you will find in the centre of the main square the Garella fontain, which, with the bells, gives a peaceful rhythm to the town. Albertville has been awarded two flowers in 2003 by the national committee of flowered towns and villages.

• Sport activities: the former Olympic Park has become a sport and leisure area, which gathers the Halle, with ice rink, a climbing wall, a tennis court; various football, base-ball and rugby stadiums, an archery range, and a healthy course. Actually, the Olympic Park was built in order to be adapted afterwards, and it has been very well managed. Nowadays, the whole Savoie region, as much professional athletes as amateurs, go to Albertville to practice their sport.

• Mountains: Albertville in itself is not a ski resort, however the nearest ski resorts are less than an hour away from the former olympic City. The two ski resorts Crest-Voland-Cohennoz (in the Arly valley) and Arêches-Beaufort (in the Beaufortain valley) offer regular shuttles from Albertville to their slopes. Albertville is a good alternative if you enjoy skiing, but do not like busy places. It is near from ski resorts, have beautiful landscapes and natural fresh air, but without all the crowd.

Property Styles and Architecture in Albertville

• Apartments: if you want a property in the town centre, you will be likely to find an apartment as they represent 76% of dwellings. It might be a good investment, as prices are quite low and the advantage of being in the town centre is that you are close by all the amenities. Apartments usually come with a private parking, however, even though Albertville is at the foot of the mountains, it is a flat town; hence, you will be able to go biking everywhere.

• Stone houses: in the surroundings of Albertville you will be lucky to find beautiful properties. These stone and slate houses come usually with a huge land of more or less 1000 sq m, also with an entrance hall, a big traditional kitchen, a large living-room with fireplace, etc. You will be delighted by these huge properties that are definitely the best place to go if you want a second home to spend holidays with your family!

Click here for more info about the Architecture in Rhone Alpes.