All downhill from here? Climate change and house prices in the Swiss Alps

This paper investigates the relationship between climate (change) and house price development in the Swiss Alps, testing the hypothesis that house-buyers in ski resorts switch from lower-lying, less snow-secure resorts to high-altitude areas with reliable snow cover. The analysis employs a sample of 303 Swiss municipalities across 38 different ski areas from 2001 to 2019. Regressions of municipal-level house price changes on altitude, temperature, and snow cover changes reveal that house prices in ski resorts have depreciated by 3.6–6.0 % per degree Celsius mean winter temperature over the 18-year period. Temperature emerged as a better predictor of house price change than altitude. For municipalities outside ski areas, this relationship between climatic variables and price appreciation does not hold. Perhaps surprisingly, no significant direct link between changes in snow cover and house prices is found. The results suggest that secondary and lower-lying ski areas have experienced relative losses in real estate asset values, possibly transmitted by changing local economic conditions