Live France Group: 0033 46845 6962; . Buyers must act fast, however, because the Swiss government will continue to set quotas in individual cantons. Overseas Homesearch has a range of Swiss properties for sale including “age exclusive” apartments in Villars from £59,300. All financially independent EU citizens can now get a five-year residency permit which enables them to buy residential property. A 10-minute walk is impossible in ski boots; even in moon boots it takes time.”Andorra, where skiing is “cheap and cheerful”, attracts the bargain hunter. Villas Abroad has a five-bedroomed villa in the principality on offer for about £170,000.

Adler says that buying in the “satellite” areas around the main resorts can be infinitely cheaper but this can render most apr?ski activities inaccessible: “Most want to be right in the mountains, they don’t even want to take a car. “We have buyers who go out to view on the 6.30am and return later that evening on the 7pm,” says Zigi Davenport She says rental returns are good. “A three-week let in February pays for all annual running costs, which pays for your own holidays.”Arlette Adler runs Villas Abroad, which has property in Andorra, Switzerland, and, surprisingly, on the Cote d’Azur, which attracts buyers who are not hardcore skiers. Reservations on off-plan sales now stretch to 2003 and many buyers are considering older-style properties such as a restored farmhouse with six bedrooms and a self-contained studio for £450,000, just one hour’s drive from Geneva airport, through Alpine Apartments.The rush to buy has been partly fuelled by investors opting for property abroad rather than pension plans. But Linda Travella of the Federation of Overseas Property Developers, Agents and Consultants’ cautions: “Make sure that you buy sensibly.

Buying in ski resorts gives you a double opportunity of using it yourself and renting out, but be sure that your nearest airport is one that offers cheap flights, which will net you far more customers.”The French Alps are well served by Easyjet, which currently has 20 flights a day from London. Other developments include chalets at St Gervais (in the Mont Blanc range) and near Samoens (part of the Grand Massif) with completion dates set for Christmas 2003 and summer 2004.But Davenport warns that many of the region’s planning departments have banned new build for the next year, and even as far as three years ahead. “They know that buying a ski lodge will ensure that they see far more of their children and grandchildren, as the property will serve the whole family for holidays for many years to come.”Alpine Apartments has a range of property including the new luxury apartments Residence Les Alpes in the heart of Chamonix old town, with one beds from £110,000 and four bedrooms with three bathrooms for sale at £430,000. Davenport specialises in the French Alps, where British buyers compete with Swiss, Dutch and Scandinavian buyers as well as expat investors. But her client group is not wholly made up of young families who are keen to ski – there is also a hefty sprinkling of “canny grannies”. “Ideally, we’d like to be near water so the boys can swim and go canoeing in the summer, so we don’t mind if the property is a little way from the ski slopes.