Demand for holiday homes gains traction

Vijay C Roy

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 13

Amid the Covid pandemic, demand for holiday homes is gaining traction in the northern region. To cash in on the growing demand, especially from the metros and NRIs, the developers have lined up various projects.

After launching ‘Axis Yog Villas’ at Goa, realty firm Axis Ecorp plans to develop holiday homes comprising villas and service apartments in Kufri and Jim Corbett. Similarly, Chandigarh-based Sushma Group is coming up with holiday homes in Kasauli.

As per experts, while the realty industry is still recovering from the downturn, the secondary and holiday homes sector has gained traction owing to increasing demand, stable investment option and higher rental yield.

Axis Ecorp CEO Aditya Kushwaha says, “Due to the pandemic, the concept of a holiday home or a second home has gained widespread acceptance. With most of the corporate professionals working from home, geography is no longer a constraint. The need for a perfect work-life balance has fuelled the concept of a weekend retreat in a holiday home.”

The market for holiday homes has been witnessing a steady growth in the past couple of years, especially after the Covid, as people are looking for spaces with more comfortable work-from-home setups.

Another factor which is fuelling the demand is curbs on overseas travel. In 2019, over 20 million Indians travelled overseas for tourism. However, travel is now restricted due to the pandemic and a big quantum of this segment is pushing demand for Indian holiday destinations. This is expected to drive the holiday homes/secondary housing segment in India. The overseas investment in the Indian market has also significantly grown owing to the fall of Indian rupee against the US dollar.