The average price per m² in Villaz is 5 387 €/m² for an apartment, based on actual notarised (DVF) sales. About 20 transactions are recorded each year.
Atmospheric illustration of Villaz, in Haute-Savoie.
In Villaz, the average price reaches 5 387 €/m², a high level that reflects the strong land pressure of the Annecy area. This average covers a stock made up mainly of houses and chalets, spread between the historic village at 630 metres of altitude and the hamlets climbing towards the Parmelan. The scarcity of building land, constrained by the slope and by farmland, supports values. This figure comes from DVF data, which lists transactions actually registered with notaries, more reliable than the prices shown in listings.
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 Villaz market is pulled by the momentum of the Annecy area, one of the tightest in France. The municipality's population grows steadily, driven by working households employed in Annecy who want a quieter mountain setting. This demand meets restricted supply: building land is scarce, constrained by the relief and by farmland. The imbalance between strong residential pressure and limited availability keeps values high and durable for a municipality of this size.
Landscape appeal is the second driver of the market. At the foot of the Parmelan, Villaz offers a mid-mountain setting, open views and quick access to outdoor activities, while staying a few minutes from Annecy. Joining the Grand Annecy urban area in 2017 strengthened the municipality's integration into the wider urban area. This positioning, between preserved farming village and upmarket residential role, explains why prices hold above those of many neighbouring municipalities further from the lake and the town.
The Villaz market is among the highest in the area, above Fillière, close to the level of Annecy, and behind the most sought-after lakeside municipalities such as Sevrier.
The name Villaz refers to a Gallo-Roman villa, a rural estate established on these slopes in Antiquity. The locality is mentioned as early as 1237 and took shape in the Middle Ages around several lordships. In 1607, Francis de Sales, the future saint and bishop of Geneva, passed through the village during his pastoral tours. Plague struck the population hard in 1629, a common episode in the Savoyard countryside of the time. The territory, tiered from 463 to 1 680 metres at the foot of the Parmelan, then lived from mountain farming, vines and forestry.
In 1749, Centaure de Regard, lord of Disonche, founded a glassworks in Villaz where some sixty workers made glasses and bottles, a rare activity in these mountains. The village reached a population peak in 1858, on the eve of the annexation of Savoie to France, pronounced in 1860. In 1894, the farmers grouped together to run a cheese cooperative, today's Fruitière du Parmelan, which continues the local dairy tradition. These craft and farming initiatives long paced the life of the municipality before its residential transformation.
From the 1970s and 1980s, Villaz changed appearance under the effect of the expansion of Annecy, only a few kilometres away. Business parks were laid out in 1985 and many housing estates were built, lifting the population well beyond its historic level. In 2017, the municipality joined the Grand Annecy urban area. The château de Bonatray, a former manor house, today houses a care clinic, while the 19th-century Nativity church marks the centre of the village. Villaz thus keeps a balance between farming heritage and a residential role.
According to INSEE, Villaz has around 3 607 inhabitants, a steadily growing population driven by the proximity of Annecy and its jobs. The housing stock consists overwhelmingly of detached houses and chalets, occupied as main residences by their owners. Buyers are mainly families and working professionals of the Annecy area looking for a mountain setting while staying within daily reach of the town. The share of second homes remains moderate for a mountain municipality, Villaz belonging more to the residential suburbs than to the tourist resorts, despite the presence of the Parmelan and outdoor activities.
The average price recorded in Villaz is 5 387 €/m², a high level consistent with the tight market of the Annecy area. This figure comes from DVF data, which lists sales actually signed before notaries. It is an average: an old chalet and a new house with a view over the Parmelan do not trade at the same price. A precise valuation must take account of floor area, condition and the location of the property.
Villaz is organised around a historic village at 630 metres of altitude and several hamlets tiered towards the slopes of the Parmelan. The best-exposed properties, with mountain views and good sunshine, are the most sought after. Proximity to the routes towards Annecy also weighs heavily on demand. Climbing towards the mountain pastures, plots grow larger but the distance from shops and schools becomes more noticeable.
Villaz lies a few kilometres north-east of Annecy, connected by road and by the bus lines of the Grand Annecy urban area, which it joined in 2017. The municipality has no station, rail access being from Annecy. This reliance on the car for daily journeys is offset by a sought-after living environment, at the foot of the Parmelan, which explains the village's residential appeal for working people from Annecy.
The Villaz market is very largely dominated by detached houses and chalets, which make up most of the stock. Apartments are few and concentrated in a handful of recent small schemes. Families come here above all for land, quiet and proximity to the mountains. This scarcity of apartments, combined with land limited by the relief, sustains strong pressure on the houses available for sale.
Yes, building land is limited. The territory, tiered from 463 to 1 680 metres, is constrained by the slope, by farming land and by the protection of the surroundings of the Parmelan. This scarcity, combined with strong demand from Annecy, explains the high price level. Well-located, well-exposed plots sell quickly. The presence of the Fruitière du Parmelan and of protected farming zones lastingly shapes the landscape and governs development in the municipality.
This analysis is published by Immover, an independent observatory founded by Antony Barbier. Data sourced from official sources (DVF, INSEE, Notaries of France).