The pandemic has seen a spike in the purchase of second homes. Ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics on February 4, the trend is reaching new heights, as Asian buyers give in to the lure of mountain living in winter chalets around the world
“Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home,” said British poet Edith Sitwell. Her succinct summary of what constitutes a home is timeless—and it is truer now than ever before.
As more countries begin reopening their borders to overseas travellers, these ongoing changes have nudged potential buyers and investors to cast their eye again on second homes in resort towns and the countryside. Another trend that has accompanied this is the appeal of winter holiday havens, which brings us back to Sitwell’s quote: the lure of snow and the ski slopes.
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One might still wonder at the viability of an investment property that is tied to a sport that is not mainstream in Asia. But as a 2018 report by Club Med observed, it is a sport that has been gaining popularity in the Asia Pacific region, with countries that experience snowfall such as China leading the trend, followed by India and Japan.
With the rise in affluence among millennials and the growing desire for experiential lifestyles, more Asian buyers from countries with little or no snowfall such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Indonesia are being drawn to the appeal of winter havens.
According to Knight Frank’s Global Buyer Survey 2021, which collected inputs from 900 respondents across 49 countries and regions, 22 per cent of Asians surveyed said they were likely to purchase a ski property as a result of the pandemic—“especially those with access to clean fresh air and green spaces, are high on the list for second home purchases”, says Victoria Garrett, head of residential at Knight Frank in Asia Pacific.
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