The average price per m² in Valmeinier is 4 073 €/m² for an apartment, based on actual notarised (DVF) sales. About 66 transactions are recorded each year.
Atmospheric illustration of Valmeinier, a resort of the Maurienne valley, in Savoie.
The average apartment price in Valmeinier stands at 4 073 €/m², based on 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 Valmeinier's role as a winter sports resort linked to the Galibier-Thabor ski area: a large share of homes are second homes, bought for skiing and holidays rather than for year-round living. Demand is concentrated on the apartments and studios of Valmeinier 1800, the high-altitude resort at the foot of the slopes, as well as on properties in the Villages area, at around 1500 metres. Altitude, distance from the lifts, aspect and the condition of the property make values vary sharply. Building land remains limited by the relief and by the tourist vocation of the valley.
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 Valmeinier market remains active for a municipality of this size, driven by its role as a resort linked to the Galibier-Thabor ski area. The high share of second homes sustains a faster turnover of sales than in a mountain village without tourism, as properties change hands with holiday plans and estate decisions. New supply stays limited: the relief, the altitude and the reduced availability of land concentrate transactions on resales and renovations within the existing fabric.
Several factors support this price level. The connection to the Galibier-Thabor area, shared with Valloire, the altitude of the resort and the setting of the upper Maurienne, at the foot of the Mont Thabor, sustain tourist and residential demand that goes beyond the local area alone. Conversely, the distance from the large employment centres, the altitude and dependence on the ski season, sensitive to snow conditions, cap price growth and explain a valuation below that of the large resorts of the neighbouring Tarentaise.
Valmeinier sits above Modane, a town of the Maurienne valley about twelve kilometres away, where the market is more residential than touristic. The municipality stays close to Saint François Longchamp, another Maurienne resort, and well below Les Belleville, which is home to some of the most sought-after Tarentaise resorts in the Alps.
Settlement of the high valley goes back to the Middle Ages, and its inhabitants long lived from mountain farming and pastoralism, in a municipality that stayed away from the main routes. From the 17th century, the discovery of good-quality anthracite, and then slate quarrying, diversified the local economy. It is from this mining activity that the name Valmeinier is thought to derive, understood as the valley of the mines.
Like many Maurienne villages, Valmeinier experienced heavy rural depopulation in the 20th century: the municipality, which had around eight hundred inhabitants at the start of the century, fell below a hundred permanent inhabitants in the early 1970s, as farming gradually came to an end. Tourism then became the only prospect for keeping a population. A development project was launched in 1971, a first ski lift was installed in 1973 at L'Arméra to reach the Valloire ski area, and the resort opened in January 1974. The development of Valmeinier 1800, the high-altitude resort, began in 1986.
The municipality is today organised around two centres: Valmeinier Villages, at around 1500 metres, which has kept the traditional fabric of the village, and Valmeinier 1800, a resort created in the 1980s at the foot of the slopes. At the head of the valley, the territory extends to the foot of the Mont Thabor, which exceeds 3200 metres, and its altitude ranges from 1200 to more than 3100 metres. The Galibier-Thabor ski area, which links Valloire and Valmeinier, takes its name from two neighbouring summits of more than 3000 metres, the Grand Galibier and the Mont Thabor.
Valmeinier has 593 inhabitants according to the INSEE census. A mountain municipality of the Maurienne valley, its market is dominated by second homes: the housing stock serves first for ski holidays in winter and hiking in summer, rather than for a year-round population. Buyers are split between mountain enthusiasts, families coming to ski on the Galibier-Thabor area and buyers of a holiday base. Apartments and studios close to the slopes, in Valmeinier 1800, account for most demand, while the chalets and houses of the Villages area, rarer, address buyers looking for a more spacious property or a more traditional setting.
The average apartment price in Valmeinier is 4 073 €/m², based on DVF transactions actually completed before notaries. This average covers significant gaps depending on proximity to the slopes and the lifts, the altitude of the area, aspect, floor level, the presence of a balcony and the condition of the property. A studio at the foot of the slopes in Valmeinier 1800 and an older apartment in the Villages area do not trade at the same level.
Valmeinier lies in the Maurienne valley, above Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne. By car, the municipality is reached from the A43 motorway and then a mountain road serving in turn Valmeinier Villages, at around 1500 metres, and Valmeinier 1800. The nearest station is Saint-Michel-Valloire, on the Maurienne line, from where a road connection reaches the resort. Modane and the Fréjus tunnel are about twelve kilometres away.
Yes. As in most winter sports resorts, a large share of the municipality's homes are second homes, occupied during holidays and weekends in season. This structure feeds a steady turnover of sales and supports demand for properties close to the slopes. Furnished tourist lettings are subject to local rules to be checked with the town hall before any seasonal rental project.
The market consists mostly of apartments: the benchmark price of 4 073 €/m² relates to apartments, which form the bulk of resort supply. Detached chalets and houses are rarer on the market and trade according to their floor area, their outdoor space and land limited by the relief. The choice depends mainly on the intended use, ski stays in a resort development or a more traditional base in the Villages area.
The municipality is split between two centres. Valmeinier 1800, the high-altitude resort created in the 1980s, concentrates tourist developments and homes closest to the lifts of the Galibier-Thabor area. Valmeinier Villages, at around 1500 metres, has kept its traditional fabric and a more village-like setting. Distance from the slopes, altitude and the character of the property explain most of the price gaps between these areas.
This analysis is published by Immover, an independent observatory founded by Antony Barbier. Data sourced from official sources (DVF, INSEE, Notaries of France).