The average price per m² in Viry is 4 856 €/m² for an apartment, based on actual notarised (DVF) sales. About 52 transactions are recorded each year.
Atmospheric illustration of Viry, in the Genevois plain, in Haute-Savoie.
The average apartment price in Viry, in Haute-Savoie, stands at 4 856 €/m², based on DVF transactions actually registered with notaries (DVF is the French record of notarised property sales). This level, high for a municipality of the Genevois plain, is explained by the nearby Swiss border and by the appeal of Geneva, some ten kilometres away. The average covers a recent stock, dominated by developments built since the 2000s, and a few older hamlet areas. Floor area, aspect, the presence of a balcony and proximity to Saint-Julien-en-Genevois make values vary from one district to another.
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 Viry market is inseparable from the Geneva border area. The population has almost doubled since the late 1990s, which brought a wave of construction of housing estates and small apartment blocks, with nearly half of main residences built between 2006 and 2020. This new supply, added to income often earned in Switzerland, keeps prices high for a rural municipality of the Genevois plain. Demand is still fed by new cross-border workers looking for housing within reasonable reach of the border.
Several factors sustain this momentum. The property saturation of Saint-Julien-en-Genevois and of the municipalities right on the border pushes some buyers towards Viry, slightly further back but well connected. Cross-border transport projects, around the Léman Express and the Genevois bus lines, strengthen access to Geneva. Conversely, the market remains exposed to the ups and downs of cross-border employment and to the Swiss franc exchange rate against the euro, two parameters that directly affect the purchasing power of cross-border households.
Viry sits in the upper range of the Genevois municipalities, above Annemasse, in line with its immediate neighbour Saint-Julien-en-Genevois and with municipalities closer to Annecy such as Poisy.
The name Viry was borne as early as the 12th century by a local noble family, a branch of the house of Sallenôve. The municipality, set in the Genevois plain, long belonged to the States of Savoy. The treaty of Turin of 1754 moved several hamlets, then that of 1816 fixed the present border between Savoie and Swiss territory. A northern part of the territory was then included in the so-called Sardinian free zone, a free-trade regime with Switzerland that became, after 1860, the Haute-Savoie free zone still in force today.
In 1860, the annexation of Savoie to France was approved by plebiscite. In Viry, the debate was heated: 391 inhabitants signed a petition in favour of joining Switzerland rather than France, a sign of the old ties between the Genevois plain and Geneva. At the beginning of the 20th century, the aviation pioneers Armand and Henri Dufaux set up an airfield in the municipality, which hosted notable air meetings in 1910 and 1911. During the Second World War, the proximity of the border made the territory a clandestine crossing point.
Long rural and spread across twelve hamlets, Viry has grown rapidly since the end of the 20th century. The population rose from around three thousand inhabitants in 1999 to nearly six thousand today, driven by the growth of the Geneva border area. The municipality, the largest in the canton of Saint-Julien-en-Genevois, has filled with housing estates and small apartment blocks, while keeping its farmland and its relief, between 357 and 755 metres of altitude. This recent development explains a new housing stock and demand sustained by cross-border workers.
Viry has 5 809 inhabitants, rising sharply. According to INSEE, the municipality counts around 3 031 dwellings, of which nearly 84 % are main residences and 6 % second homes. Also according to INSEE, apartments account for around 51 % of the stock and houses a little under 49 %, and nearly 58 % of households own their main residence. Almost half of main residences were built between 2006 and 2020, a sign of very recent development. Buyers are mostly cross-border workers employed in Geneva and families drawn by the proximity of Switzerland and of Saint-Julien-en-Genevois.
The average apartment price in Viry, in Haute-Savoie, is 4 856 €/m², based on DVF transactions actually completed before notaries. This level reflects the pressure of the Geneva border area. The average hides gaps depending on the age of the development, floor level, the presence of outdoor space or a garage and the distance to Saint-Julien-en-Genevois and the Swiss border.
The proximity of Geneva, some ten kilometres away, is the main driver of the market. Many residents work in Switzerland and have income in Swiss francs, which supports prices across the Genevois plain. Viry also belongs to the Haute-Savoie free zone, a historic legacy of the customs regime with Switzerland. This dependence on the Geneva area makes the market sensitive to cross-border employment.
This Viry lies in the Genevois plain, in the north-west of the Haute-Savoie department, some ten kilometres from Geneva and a few kilometres from Saint-Julien-en-Genevois. It should not be confused with the other French municipalities named Viry, in the Jura and in Saône-et-Loire. It is the largest in the canton of Saint-Julien-en-Genevois, spread over about a dozen hamlets.
The stock is almost balanced: according to INSEE, apartments account for around 51 % of dwellings and houses a little under 49 %. The benchmark price of 4 856 €/m² relates to apartments, numerous in the recent developments close to the routes towards Switzerland. Houses, often in the hamlets, are aimed more at families settled year-round, while apartments attract cross-border workers and first-time buyers.
Viry is connected to Saint-Julien-en-Genevois and to Geneva by road and by the cross-border bus lines of the Genevois. The Léman Express, reachable from the neighbouring municipalities, rounds out services towards the Geneva urban area. Annecy, the department's prefecture, is about thirty-five kilometres away. This access to two employment centres explains a large share of residential demand 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).