Cluses, at the heart of the valley of the Arve

Lying between Geneva and Chamonix, Cluses offers a wide array of properties, apartments, houses and building plots, at attrac­tive prices for this region. A blessing for first-time buyers and members of the working population with average budgets…

Linked by the TER to Annecy, Chamonix and Geneva, Cluses is home to many people actively employed in its dynamic commercial and industrial zones. The neighbourhoods of Ponthior and Le Noiret are among the sunniest, and thus the most popular. These areas backing onto the southern slopes of Le Chevran and La Pointe d’Orchex benefit from lovely light, a highly-prized commodity in this environment where the mountains cast their shadows over the valleys. Which naturally has an effect on prices. “According to the latest notaries’ statistics, the average price for apartments in Cluses is 1,800 € per sq. metre, while it fluctuates around 2,400 € on the neighbouring commune of Thyez. In fact, sunlight is one of the reasons for the difference, though not the only one. Over the past few years, Cluses has not welcomed any new developments, so its offerings are ageing : very recent properties which sell at high prices on neighbouring communes do not form part of homes proposed in Cluses,” explains Gabrielle Pelepol of the agency Les 2 Vallées, specializing for many years in the valley of the Arve. It also offers its services in property surveying, an additional guarantee of seriousness for this agency based for the past 15 years in Cluses. “Since 2008, the market has seen a drop in prices, attaining 15 % for some properties in 2015. This year’s trend seems to be towards greater stability. Sellers still find it hard to accept our estimates, but after a few months, they realise that if they want to sell quickly, it is essential to offer their properties at today’s market prices. As a result of this situation, first-time buyers, encouraged by the new PTZ mortgage and interest rates on bank loans at record lows, are pursuing their plans to acquire their own homes. In pleasant areas, they can envisage a 2-bedroomed apartment from 150,000 €”. By way of exemple, Gabrielle Pelelpol mentions the recent sale of a split-level 2-bedroomed apartment in the prized neighbourhood of Scionzier. With a floor area of 120 m2, a cellar and garage, it just found a taker at 158,000 €. “When properties are placed on the market at the going price, they sell quickly. Buyers are certainly there !” says our specialist, who has just orchestrated the sale, within one month, of a house of 115 m2 built in 2011 in the Gendarmerie neighbourhood, priced at 250,000 €.

An expert in the Vallée de l’Arve sector for the past ten years, and manageress of the Stéphane Plaza Immobilier agency based in Cluses since May 2016, Natacha Familiari confirms a market more evenly balanced thanks to prices that have stabilized for recent properties. “Cluses is a major industrial area in the region. Many employees are earnestly looking for both houses and apartments. Practical, quiet and residential, the neighbourhoods of Le Noiret and Messy are the most widely sought-after. A soundly-built 2-bedroom apartment can be found here from 170,000 €, while a 3-bedroomed house with a garden of about 500 m2 can be envisaged from 280,000 €.” Natacha Familiari nevertheless insists on the fact that the properties that sell quickly are those placed on the market at prices estimated by professionals.

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