The average price per m² in Hauteluce is 7 031 €/m² for an apartment, based on actual notarised (DVF) sales. About 64 transactions are recorded each year.
Atmospheric illustration of Hauteluce, a Beaufortain village linked to the Les Saisies resort, in Savoie.
The average price of apartments in Hauteluce stands at 7 031 €/m², based on the DVF transactions actually registered with notaries (DVF is the French record of notarised property sales). This level, high for a mountain municipality of this size, comes from the twofold nature of the territory: a Beaufortain pasture village listed for its heritage, and direct access to the Espace Diamant ski area through the Les Saisies resort. A large share of dwellings are second homes, bought for skiing and for summer at altitude rather than for year-round living. Demand is concentrated on the apartments and chalets close to Les Saisies and to the Belleville hamlet, and on the old village around the baroque church. Altitude, exposure to the sun, the view over the Mont Blanc range and the distance to the lifts make values vary widely.
Prices from the DVF file (Demandes de valeurs foncières, published by the DGFiP), transactions actually recorded at the notary at municipality level. Cross-referenced with the Notaires de France - INSEE indices. Learn more about our methodology.
The Hauteluce market remains active for a municipality of this size, driven by its role as a village resort linked to the Espace Diamant. The high share of second homes sustains a turnover of sales stronger than in a classic mountain village, as properties change hands with holiday plans and family wealth decisions. New supply remains limited: the relief, the altitude, the listing of the village and the protection of the mountain pastures reduce buildable land and concentrate transactions on resales and renovations within the existing fabric.
Several factors support this price level. The proximity of Les Saisies and of the Espace Diamant area, the view over the Mont Blanc range, the preserved setting of the Beaufortain and the fame of beaufort cheese sustain tourist and residential demand that reaches beyond the local area alone. The proximity of highly rated resorts in the neighbouring valley also pulls prices upwards. Conversely, the distance from the large employment areas, the altitude and dependence on the ski season, sensitive to snow conditions, cap the rise in prices and explain values below those of the large resorts of the Mont Blanc country.
Hauteluce sits below Megève, the upper benchmark of the area's resorts a few kilometres away, and above Saint-Gervais-les-Bains, a spa and ski resort of the Mont Blanc country. The municipality remains clearly above Albertville, the valley town some twenty kilometres downstream.
The name Hauteluce is often linked to the Latin form Alta Lux, the high light, echoing the position of the valley on the sunny side of the Doron de Beaufort. The municipality lies at the heart of the Beaufortain range, in Savoie, at around 1 150 metres of altitude, and its territory stretches from the col des Saisies to the col du Joly, facing the Mont Blanc range. The village is organised around the church of Saint-Jacques d'Assyrie, a baroque building listed as a historic monument in 1943, recognisable by its onion-domed bell tower and its trompe-l'oeil facade.
The present building dates mostly from the 16th century and was enlarged between 1666 and 1672. Its bell tower, some fifty metres high, was demolished in 1794 during the Revolution before being rebuilt in the 19th century. The Beaufortain long lived off mountain farming and pastoralism: herds of Abondance and Tarine cattle climb to the mountain pastures in summer, and their milk feeds the making of beaufort, a cheese with protected designation of origin that remains a marker of the valley's identity.
Recent history is marked by two transformations. The Girotte dam, the first large dam of the Beaufortain, filled in 1946, holds back a high-altitude lake and illustrates the hydroelectric development of the range. Then the growth of skiing made the Les Saisies resort, on municipal land, a gateway to the Espace Diamant area, which links Hauteluce to Crest-Voland, Notre-Dame-de-Bellecombe and Flumet. The Hauteluce eco-museum preserves the memory of life in the valley in earlier times and recalls the shift from a farming village to a municipality also turned towards four-season tourism.
Hauteluce has 734 inhabitants according to the INSEE census. A mountain municipality of the Beaufortain, its market is dominated by second homes: the housing stock serves first for ski stays in winter, and for hiking and mountain pastures in summer, more than for a population settled year-round. Buyers are split between mountain enthusiasts, families from the Savoie valleys and the Lyon area, and purchasers looking for a chalet or a base close to Les Saisies. Apartments and chalets close to the slopes concentrate most of the demand, while the renovated farmhouses of the old village appeal to buyers attached to the traditional architecture of the range.
The average price of apartments in Hauteluce is 7 031 €/m², based on the DVF transactions actually registered with notaries. This average covers wide gaps depending on proximity to Les Saisies and to the lifts, altitude, exposure to the sun, the view over the Mont Blanc range, floor level and the condition of the property. A chalet or apartment close to the slopes and a home in the old village do not trade at the same level.
Hauteluce lies in the Beaufortain range, with no direct rail service. By car, the municipality is reached from Albertville, some twenty kilometres away, by the Beaufortain road, then the roads climbing towards the col des Saisies and the col du Joly. The nearest station is Albertville, on the Tarentaise line. The airports of Geneva, Lyon and Chambéry serve the valley for holiday stays.
Yes. As in most mountain municipalities linked to a ski area, a large share of Hauteluce's dwellings are second homes, occupied during holidays and in-season weekends. This structure feeds a steady turnover of sales and supports demand for properties close to Les Saisies. Furnished tourist lets are subject to local rules to check with the town hall before any seasonal letting project.
The market mixes resort apartments and chalets. The benchmark price of 7 031 €/m² covers apartments, which make up a large share of supply around Les Saisies. Chalets and renovated farmhouses in the old village are rarer on the market and often trade above that level, given their floor area, their plot and their character. The choice depends mainly on intended use, ski stays, a holiday home or year-round living.
The value of a property depends first on its distance from the skiing and on its aspect. The areas close to the Les Saisies resort and to the Belleville hamlet, within reach of the Espace Diamant lifts, concentrate the most sought-after homes. The main village, around the baroque church, and the pasture hamlets offer a more traditional setting and properties with character. The whole sits in a fabric constrained by the relief and by the listing of the village.
This analysis is published by Immover, an independent observatory founded by Antony Barbier. Data sourced from official sources (DVF, INSEE, Notaries of France).