The 2024/25 Ski Season: Perfect Conditions Await in Austria’s Top Resorts

Winter has arrived, and the 2024/25 ski season is in full swing! Austria’s renowned ski resorts are ready to welcome winter sports enthusiasts with their majestic peaks, pristine glaciers, and world-class slopes. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned skier, Austria offers something for everyone. Here’s a comprehensive look at the latest opening dates, snow conditions, and mountain highlights at the country’s top ski destinations.

Sölden: An Early Start to Winter Magic

Sölden kicked off its season on 14th of November, continuing its tradition of starting early. Glacier skiing has been available since mid-October, with the Alpine Ski World Cup Opening on 26th / 27th of October marking the season’s grand debut.

Nestled at altitudes of 3,000 meters, the Rettenbach and Tiefenbach glaciers boast snow depths of up to 1 meter, providing exceptional conditions. With its two glaciers, Sölden guarantees snow reliability and stunning vistas. Peaks like the Gaislachkogel (3,058 meters) set a breathtaking stage for skiing adventures. Modern lifts, expansive ski areas, and unforgettable views make this resort a top choice. The season extends until 4th of May 2025.

Obergurgl-Hochgurgl: The Diamond of the Alps

At elevations reaching 3,080 meters, Obergurgl-Hochgurgl is among Austria’s highest and most snow-secure ski resorts. The season began on 16th of November, with current snow depths of 50 cm in the valley and over 1 meter on the upper slopes.

The Wurmkogl summit (3,082 meters) offers panoramic views and serves as a favorite photo spot. With serene slopes and fewer crowds, it’s perfect for those seeking a peaceful skiing experience. The lifts are scheduled to operate until late April 2025.

Hochoetz: A Family-Friendly Haven

Located in the idyllic Ötztal Valley, Hochoetz opened its slopes on 30th of November 2024. The resort, with elevations of up to 2,200 meters, features snow depths ranging from 30 to 50 cm, making it ideal for families and beginners.

The gentle terrain ensures a safe and enjoyable experience for children, while cozy alpine lodges provide the perfect spot to relax after a day on the slopes. The season runs until the end of March 2025, making it an ideal winter escape.

Kühtai: Austria’s Highest Ski Resort

As Austria’s highest ski resort at 2,020 meters, Kühtai delivers outstanding snow reliability. Opening on 29th of November 2024, the resort already boasts snow depths of 60 cm in the valley and up to 90 cm on the slopes.

Known for its tranquil atmosphere and breathtaking views of the Tyrolean Alps, Kühtai is a favorite among both thrill-seekers and those looking for relaxation. The lifts are set to operate until 5th of May 2025.

Fieberbrunn: A Freerider’s Paradise

Part of the expansive Skicircus Saalbach-Hinterglemm Leogang Fieberbrunn, this resort began operations on 1st of December 2024. With peaks reaching 2,096 meters, Fieberbrunn is renowned for its off-piste terrain and deep powder, making it a hotspot for freeriders.

Offering a mix of slopes for all levels, the resort’s modern snowmaking system ensures excellent conditions. With its diverse layout and space, it caters to families and advanced skiers alike. The season wraps up on 13th of April 2025.

St. Anton am Arlberg: A Timeless Alpine Icon

St. Anton, the jewel of the Arlberg region, officially opened its season on 4th of December 2024. Known for its challenging terrain, it’s a favorite among experienced skiers. Current snow depths reach up to 80 cm in the higher regions.

Panoramic views from the Valluga summit (2,809 meters) and a variety of slopes make St. Anton an unforgettable destination. The lifts operate until 26th of April 2025, offering ample time to explore its vast terrain.

Ischgl: Snow Meets Entertainment

Ischgl launched its season on 23rd of November 2024, with the iconic *Top of the Mountain* concert. With elevations of up to 2,872 meters and snow depths reaching 1 meter, conditions are pristine.

Linked to the Swiss resort of Samnaun, Ischgl provides a vast skiing area with exceptional variety. Renowned for its après-ski scene and vibrant atmosphere, it’s a top pick for adventure and entertainment lovers alike. Lifts remain open until 1st of May 2025.

Saalbach-Hinterglemm: A Modern Family Favourite

Saalbach-Hinterglemm began its season on 30th of November, offering excellent conditions thanks to state-of-the-art snowmaking systems. The resort features diverse runs and peaks like the Schattberg (2,097 meters).

Ideal for families, Saalbach-Hinterglemm also caters to advanced skiers with its challenging terrain. Numerous cozy mountain huts and après-ski spots ensure a complete alpine experience. The season concludes on 13th of April 2025.

Plan Your Ski Adventure Today

Whether you’re seeking tranquil family-friendly slopes, thrilling freeride terrain, or vibrant après-ski scenes, Austria’s ski resorts offer it all this winter. With breathtaking landscapes and exceptional snow conditions, the 2024/25 ski season promises unforgettable memories. Start planning your perfect winter getaway now!

Agree an Austrian mortgage today and refinance next year for 1%

The ECB to Cut Key Rate Six Times by End of 2025

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/investing/2024/08/12/ecb-to-cut-key-rate-six-times-by-end-of-2025-survey-shows/

A non-Austrian can get a fixed rate mortgage today from an Austrian bank to buy their preferred ski apartment at today’s price and then refinance next year when the rates are lower for a cost of 1% or less to cancel their agreement (less than 3,250 Euros on mortgage of 325,000).

There is a very short supply of Austrian ski property.

A lot of property developers made the mistake of building during a period of high inflation and projects were cancelled.

When interest rates fall, more buyers will come back into the market and prices could rise by up to 5%.

A 5% rise on 650,000 ski apartment is an increase of 32,500 Euros.

Please contact us today for more information on how you could take advantage of this Austrian consumer regulation which helps you to cancel your refinance for 1% or less.

More tourists booked apartments in Tirol between November and March

7.1% more tourists booked their holiday in an apartment this Winter.

The number of tourists visiting Tirol increased by 7.6% between November and March.

Some other positive news: hotels are reporting strong bookings for the Summer season too.

76% of accommodation owners are satisfied with their Summer reservations.

Germany is still the number one country and the number of German tourists increased by 10.4% to 523,000 overnight stays.

There was a 7.1% increase in the number of bookings to stay in apartments versus hotels.

https://www.tt.com/artikel/30881185/24-4-millionen-naechtigungen-starkes-plus-fuer-den-tiroler-wintertourismus

Interest rates to fall from 4,5 to 2,15%

The ECB is expected to cut interest rates between June 2024 and Spring 2025 from 4,5 to 2,15%.

The intrest rates cuts are expected because inflation rates in the Euro area are currently moving towards the target of 2%.

Source article  https://immo-timeline.at/a/institute-ezb-wird-einlagenzins-bis-fruehjahr-2025-wohl-halbieren

Buy now before property prices rise in 2025

This is a good time to buy an Austrian property before property prices are expected to rise next year in 2025.

The Austrian Chamber of Commerie (WKÖ) predicts that prices will have to rise as there will be a shortage of supply.

Here is a link to the original article https://immo-timeline.at/a/keine-entspannung-an-der-preisfront-fuer-frei-finanzierte-neubauwohnungen

And below you can read an English translation.

Keine Entspannung an der Preisfront für frei finanzierte Neubauwohnungen _ ImmoFokus Timeline en

14 Oct 23 Rising hotel rates and falling inflation: good news for apartment owners 

According to Hotel Monitor 2024 Powered by Amex GBT Consulting, hotel room rates in Europe are projected to increase by double-digit percentages in 2024 providing a welcome boost for serviced apartment owners.

The report forecasts specific rate increases in key European destinations:

  • Munich +7.2%
  • Amsterdam +10.8%
  • Brussels +6.2%
  • Dublin +10.0%
  • London +9.1%

Real estate traditionally acts as a hedge during periods of high inflation as the real estate asset holds its value and rental income can be indexed with inflation.

As costs rise for hotels or serviced apartments, the operator passes on the costs to paying tourists in the form of higher overnight rates creating an inflation-proof model.

Another important factor in the higher prices is the surge in post-pandemic travel thanks to pent-up demand.  According to Tirol Werbung, in the months from May to the end of September, guest arrivals in Tyrol increased by 5.9 percent to 5.7 million, and overnight stays increased by 1.6 percent to 20.5 million.

This coupled with the imbalance between supply and demand for hotel rooms (developers have not been building enough rooms in the last two years) is pushing up the prices on a global scale.

Keith Barr, CEO of IHG Hotels and Resorts, offers his perspective: “We had robust supply growth over an extended period of time, which did keep rates down. It’s just going to support pricing being where it should have been over time, which is great for this industry.”

In Austria, we are also achieving higher rates on our 2024 bookings.

A professional serviced apartment operator like All-Suite Resorts https://www.all-suite.com/ uses yield marketing software by https://hotelpartner-ym.com/ to adjust its overnight rates every 4 minutes to get the highest yield for apartment owners.

As an example, All-Suite Resorts monitors market data and keeps overnight prices high for key Winter season weeks in the knowledge that supply for rooms in a given location will start to fall and prices rise accordingly.

In other words, they achieve a higher price by not selling out too quickly.

Meanwhile, inflation in the Eurozone after peaking at 10.6% has been on the decline over the past year.

In Germany, the annual inflation rate plunged to 4.3% in September from 6.4% in August.

“This likely is the beginning of an accelerated decline” in eurozone inflation, said Claus Vistesen, the chief Eurozone economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

So, in summary, it’s a good time to invest in Tirol thanks to falling inflation and rising overnight prices – plus the shortage of hotel rooms thanks to low levels of development in the last 48 months.

Here some other important benefits to consider:

  • Before the pandemic, serviced apartments were the fastest growing accommodation category in Austria with an 18% increase in bookings in Winter 2018 (source: Urlaub in Ferienwohnungen boomt https://tirol.orf.at/news/stories/2904521/)
  • Serviced apartments outperformed hotels during a pandemic thanks to well-spaced, self-contained apartments where tourists can arrive in their own car, have the flexibility to cook and avoid communal areas
  • Tirol is one the least densely populated areas in Europe with 59 people per square kilometre versus Germany 232, Netherlands 521, England (UK) 424, Belgium 376, Czech Republic 135
  • The Summer tourism business is growing fast even in high altitude resorts
  • Tourists are lowering their CO2 footprint and choosing closer destinations
  • For the apartment owner, there is capital growth in the mid-term
  • WFH: more families are spending time in the mountains and skiing when the weather is perfect and working back in the apartment when necessary
  • Lifestyle investment: owners can earn up to 4% per annum but also have healthy holidays with family and friends.

Please Contact us today to find out more about our inflation-proof property investments.

The Telegraph: “Why we should all be more Austrian about autumn”.

In the Tyrol, September is about embracing the last of the long days and drinking good wine

Autumn might be fast approaching, but that doesn’t mean it’s time to batten down the hatches and head indoors just yet – particularly not if you opt for a short break in Austria, where at this time of year everyone is up in the mountains hiking, mountain biking and, of course, foraging.

And there are myriad reasons to do just that. Austria does autumn colour extremely well (it’s not all pine forests in the Alps), and there are nuts, berries, herbs and, most prized of all at this time of year, mushrooms.

PDF 230919 Why Tyrol is the best Austrian state to visit this autumn

Tyrol in Austria is home to stunning natural landscapes that are well worth a visit, particularly in autumn CREDIT: Alamy Stock Photo

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/austria/why-tyrol-is-the-best-austrian-state-to-visit-this-autumn/

Easter site visits in Austrian Alps

Lots of snow will be falling in the Austrian Alps in the next 10 days so if you are skiing then why not get in contact to see some of our projects and completed apartments?

If you are a non-EU citizen then we can still help you to buy and get finance.  Here is a summary of our properties:

SKI-IN & OUT LOCATIONS

Kühtai: Austria’s highest ski village (2,020m). Prices start at 248,000EUR + 3% buyers’ fees for a studio apartment with stunning South-facing views. These apartments have been completed. Projected immediate return between 3.6% and 4.1%.

Kirchberg / Kitzbühel: ski-in is often possible within 150m of apartments. 2 top restaurants operated by Simon Taxacher, one of the best chefs in Austria. Prices from 329.000€.  Attractive return prospects: 3.7% to 4.9% (from the 3rd year of operation).

Hinterstoder: prices from €376.784. Non-EU nationals can buy as a natural person here.  Approximately 4% total capital return per annum rising to 7,5% over 20 years due to revenue based return model.

OTHER COMPLETED APARTMENTS

Galtür / Ischgl: 4 apartments left (two 2-bed and two 3-bed).  Average 4% return over 10 years.  Click for an example of a 3D tour

St Anton: 3 resale apartments from 799,000 with the option to handle the rental business yourself.

Ötztal: 1 apartment for resale for 559,000EUR (apartment and storage in basement) + 30,000EUR for 1 underground parking space Net. Buyer fees 3% of the gross sales price.

Off-market hotels: we have a growing portfolio of hotels which are for resale ranging in price from 1m to 20m. All enquiries are handled very discreetly.

COMING SOON

If you are interested in Seefeld / Leutasch and Berwang then contact us and we can share some information on apartments in these locations.

Helene Atterbury – Property Consultant +43 676 962 7712

[email protected] 

Austria – 10 reasons why

Thanks to the Austrian tourist board for this great blog on why skiers (and property buyers) choose Austria.

What really stands out for us and our buyers about Austria are the following:

State of the art infrastructure: everything works in Austria and there is a real sense of balancing tradition, nature and modernity.   We have the latest lifts, top of the range snow-making facilities and meticulous planning which you don’t always see in neighbouring countries.  This is achieved through careful debate in the current Regional government of Tirol which consists of a coalition between the conservatives (ÖVP) and The Green party.  Together, they are able to reach careful consensus and sign off new ski lift ventures like the future Oetz / Kühtai lift connection and the forthcoming link between Sölden’s glaciers and the Pitztal glacier to make the world’s largest glacier ski area.

Value for money: Austrian ski property prices are 28% below other alpine countries but price growth is higher at 8% (source: Savills).  Day-to-day living expenses e.g. lunch on the mountain and skiing are cheaper compared to France and Switzerland.

Nobody takes skiing more seriously than the Austrians: skiing is to an Austrian what football is to the rest of us. Third generation ski instructors will teach you to ski and guide you down routes they have skied all their life.  And did you know that 73% of Austrians speak English compared with only 39% of French?

Austrian Gemütlichkeit & après-ski: in many Austrian ski resorts, the local families have not been priced out by wild boom (and bust) property prices and so you can expect to be welcomed and looked after by locals in cosy surroundings where the beer and sing-along music starts in the afternoon. And because the average price of a beer in Austria is 4 Euros versus 8 Euros in France – it won’t break the bank.

Read further here https://www.austria.info/uk/things-to-do/skiing-and-winter/10-reasons-to-ski-in-austria

Kristall Spaces voted Winner in Best Residential Development in Austria

5 September 2018: Kristall Spaces is delighted to announce that All-Suite Resort Ötztal has just been voted Winner in category of Best Residential Development in Austria at the International Property Awards 2018/19.

More information will follow at the Awards Ceremony in London on 25 October 2018 at the Royal Lancaster Hotel https://propertyawards.net/