Global holiday home prices recovering

Home prices in niche residential retreat areas have taken a beating since the global financial crisis, according to a study.London-based international property consultants Savills said this month that values for such homes are up to 30 per cent below peak levels.

But they are expected to return to pre-crisis levels by 2019, led by "high-quality, low-supply prime hot spots" such as those in the Spanish Balearics and the Caribbean.

Following a turnaround inChina Work Visa application form prices last year after the global economic downturn, Savills estimates that properties in "city getaway locations" such as the Mediterranean may see continued price growth of up to 10 per cent this year.

With property markets in prime cities becoming more fully valued, second homes in popular locations are becoming increasingly attractive as an alternative investment for the wealthy.

"There are strong signs that the recovery which started in major world cities in 2009 is now rolling out to the hinterland and boltholes inhabited during weekends and vacations by equity-rich homeowners," said Savills World Research director Yolande Barnes.

France is leading the price table. A typical four-bedroom villa or apartment in the French Riviera is going for about ￡2 million S$4.2 million.

Before the crisis, prime RivieraChina Student Visa application locations such as the Provencal town of Saint-Tropez could fetch prices up to four times that, according to a May 2007 New York Times article.

Investors from Russia, Britain and the Middle East are chasing a limited number of French holiday properties. An example is the popular region of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat in the Riviera - the exclusive tourist peninsula has only 500 homes.

Spain and Portugal have seen home prices in holiday locations fall by up to a third from peaks in 2007.