A mortgage in Annecy and around the lake

Annecy prices and who buys

The SeLoger and Meilleurs Agents barometer put the average price in Annecy at €5,906 per m² for apartments and €7,337 for houses on 1 September 2026. Buyers look at flats in the old town and near the lake, and at houses in lakeside villages such as Talloires, Veyrier-du-Lac or Sevrier.

Non-resident foreigners accounted for about 6% of sales of existing homes in the Haute-Savoie in 2022, according to Notaires de France. The department is also one of Swiss buyers' favourites, according to the Capifrance agency network's 2025 figures.

Buying before a move from Geneva

Geneva had 114,144 foreign cross-border workers at the end of 2024, according to the canton's statistics office, and about two thirds of those granted a cross-border permit that year lived in the Haute-Savoie.

If you live in Switzerland now and plan to keep a Geneva job while living in France, you apply as a non-resident on your current Swiss income. Once you move to Annecy, the home becomes your main residence and the loan stays in place. Send your employment contract, recent payslips and Swiss tax documents, and give the date you plan to move.

Every loan you repay counts against the 35% ceiling, including a Swiss mortgage, a car lease or a consumer loan, and so does borrower insurance. If you are not Swiss, the bank may also ask which Swiss residence permit you hold and how long you have been with your employer.

Swiss-franc income and loans in francs

Most French property loans are in euros. Banks convert your franc salary into euros with a safety margin, and some ask for savings to be held with them, because a fall in the franc would make each euro repayment cost more francs.

French consumer law allows a home loan in a foreign currency only if you declare that at least half of your annual income is received in that currency, or that your assets in it cover at least 20% of the loan when you sign. The offer must explain the exchange risk. Not every lender offers such loans, and a euro loan, with the deposit and repayments converted at good rates, is the more common route. A forward contract can fix the rate for the deposit transfer from the day you sign the compromis. Our guide for Swiss residents covers the rest of the file.

Letting a second home around the lake

The Grand Annecy agglomeration voted new rules on 13 February 2025, in force since 1 June 2025. A second home needs a change-of-use authorisation, valid for four years, before it can be let to tourists. Quotas apply in 27 communes, Annecy itself is split into three zones with their own quotas, and once a quota is full new applicants and renewals go on a waiting list. In May 2025 the administrative court refused to suspend the rules.

A bank will not count holiday income that depends on a place in a queue. It counts rent it can verify from a long-term or furnished lease, often at around 70%. Annecy also applies the maximum 60% surcharge on the council tax for second homes. Some lakeside apartments sit in a résidence de tourisme (serviced tourist residence) let to an operator under a commercial lease, and fewer banks lend on these.

Next steps in Annecy

In the eligibility check, say where you live, which currency you are paid in and whether you plan to move. We will introduce you to one English-speaking broker who places files with Swiss income, and matching is free. French Notaires can find an English-speaking notaire near Annecy. For ski resorts and chalets, see our French Alps guide.

Questions