The attractiveness of the department does not only have advantages. The proof in Gap, where many external developers thought they would find blessed land at a time when they were struggling in their sector.
“A blessed land? That’s the idea they had.”corrects François Koroloff, vice-president of the Federation of Real Estate Developers (FPI) Alpes, referent for Hautes-Alpes.
A high-Alpine developer for 25 years, the president of the Pro & Immo group in Embrun knows this sector well. The overabundance of programs in Gap, around fifteen for more than 500 homes, has completely disrupted this market.
Disturbed buyers
“It is dynamic, but does not have the capacity to absorb such a volume. We would rather be in good years with 60 to 80 housing units per year”he indicates.
With the increase in the price of materials, labor and construction (“increase linked to standards that are certainly more virtuous but more costly”according to him), new ones have become more expensive.
More “Prices in Gap today range from €3,500 to €5,000 per square meter, a level that has never been reached. This disrupts buyers and the market at a time when that of the old one is declining. »
Higher prices in the north
The average price per new square meter is between €4,200 and €4,400 in Gap, around €4,500 in Embrun and between €4,400 and €4,800 in Briançon.
“Historically, there has always been a price difference when you go north. + 5% between Gap and Guillestrois and + 5 to 7% to Briançon. And this, for multiple reasons: the level of concrete-reinforcement structures, thermal insulation and seismicity standards, transport costs… he explains.
The stations constitute a separate market. On average, a square meter sells for between €5,500 and €6,000 in Les Orres.
It costs around €6,000 in Risoul/Vars and reaches heights in Serre-Chevalier (notably in Monêtier-les-Bains), i.e. €8,000 per square meter, or even €9,000.
Even outside resorts, prices make it very difficult for first-time buyers to access the new home market outside of aid schemes such as the rental-ownership social loan (PSLA).
Unless you benefit from a helping hand from loved ones like this young 19-year-old worker who reserved a 45 m² one-bedroom apartment on the Arborescence program (44 homes) whose first stone will be laid on October 31.
“He’s our youngest buyer in Gap”slips François Koroloff.
