Buying a holiday home : It's Now or Never

5 months back I had written an article on how the pandemic was going to impact a specific category of real estate – the vacation home buyers and those seeking senior living home options. https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/senior-living-holiday-homes-see-spike-next-6-12-months-kumar-gaurav/

Humility is definitely not one of my virtues – it feels great to be proven right. Anyone who is operating in this space (second homes in tourist destinations) can vouch for the surge in demand for long leases, ownership options and the flood of inquiries for short leases of 3-6 months for houses with lavish outdoor spaces, private pools, and most importantly high speed wi-fi.

Buying a holiday home for the family or as an investment cum self-use is always a decision that seems to take forever. Pre July 2020, most of the people who reached out to me typically ended up taking almost a year before they finally sign the dotted lines. Contrast that with the last 2 months where number of inquiries, due diligence and agreement on terms of sale are being achieved within 6-12 weeks contingent upon travel restrictions/guidelines.

So what has really changed in the last 4-5 months: Certainly not the prospects of a resurgent economy. If I were to go out on a limb and venture few guesses (intelligent ones of course), i would say the renewed demand for holiday homes is being propelled by and in particular order of importance:

• Distress induced drop in prices or the expectation of it
• Realisation that work can be managed remotely
• Family is priority: Making memories is equally or more important than making money
• One of the earlier tenets of buying holiday home for “Pride of Ownership” or “Flaunt value” has considerably gone down in the pecking order but then like any other decision in life, a vacation home does have that overhang of “status symbol” appeal.

What attributes are being sought by the fence sitters as well as serious buyers for a great vacation home in post Covid era:

• Independent house ideally part of a larger community
• Villas with a private pool, outdoor space, moderately high-end specifications replete with all amenities
• Accessibility and location – road access yet away from the crowded touristy areas
• Excellent network and internet connectivity
• Open spaces with unending views – depending on price point and location it could be Himalayan or other mountain range views, sea views, river, paddy fields, valley views etc that people would ideally seek to make them feel connected with nature
• And finally, price points that allow for a moderate appreciation year on year

Any development company offering most of the above calls for a serious consideration of their product.

The time is NOW ….Another 4-8 weeks and the window of opportunity would definitely squeeze for those seeking their perfect or near perfect holiday home.