ANNECY OFFPLAN SALES PROMPT START ON LATEST SCHEME

The success of off-plans sales in Annecy in the Haute-Savoie region of France has prompted French developer MGM to bring forward the start date for its latest residential scheme in the historic lakeside town.

Construction work gets underway this month on La Villa d’Artagnan, a contemporary-style small development of 18 new homes. It is located in the Parmelan area of Annecy where big family homes of the art nouveau period are situated close to their own local shops, school and dance school, giving the area a village feel.’

The new homes range in size from a one-bedroom apartment priced at €388,000 to a four-bedroom duplex property on sale at €1,211,000.

Located in Rue Andr� Theuriet, just off Annecy’s fashionable Avenue d’Albigny, La Villa d’Artagnan is less than one minute’s walk from the shore of Lake Annecy and just over five minutes from the town centre.

The scheme is similar in style to MGM’s nearby Villa Marine scheme of 24 apartments in three buildings due for completion this summer. With all but four of these apartments already sold, the prices of those remaining start at €389,000 for a two-bedroom property.

This computer-generated image shows MGM’s Villa Marine development currently nearing completion in Annecy. It is less than one minute’s walk from the shore of Lake Annecy which can be seen at the end of the road.

In both developments the apartments have under-floor heating and each comes with an underground garage and cellar storage space.

“These properties will appeal to UK buyers seeking second homes as well as investments,” says Nathalie Turchet, London-based UK sales manager of MGM which currently has eight residential schemes planned or underway in Annecy and the villages around its lake.

“For investors, monthly rental income from a two-bedroom apartment the Parmelan area of Annecy is expected to be in the region of €1,400 to €1,500 during both the ski season and summer months,” says Nathalie. She believes that property values and rental incomes are set to rise following the recent completion of a new motorway link with Geneva, making its international airport just 30 minutes away by road.

Nathalie says that, although Annecy is still relatively unknown to many Britons, the picturesque olde worlde’ university town in the foothills of the French Alps, with its Little Venice’ canal network, restaurants, cafes and weekly markets, is only half-an-hour by road from top ski resorts like Le Grand Bornand and La Clusaz. In summer its lake draws enthusiasts for sailing, watersports and fishing as well as paragliding and hiking.

For full details of the new MGM homes for sale in Annecy contact the company’s UK office at Kingsland House, 122 – 124 Regent Street, London W1B 5SA, telephone 0207 4940706 or visit the website www.mgm-constructeur.com