Weekend Homes have not always been popular with Indian buyers. The holiday or weekend home concept has not really attracted Indian buyers even till two or three years back. Yet, aspirations of Indian customers are steadily on the rise owing to higher disposable incomes, creation of new wealth and a steadily recovering economy. The whole idea behind owning a second home is now exclusivity, prosperity and recreation combined into one tempting proposition for Indian buyers. More and more people are now looking at purchasing weekend properties in secluded and picturesque areas that are perfect holiday destinations in their own right. These areas are mostly accessible within two-three hours from the city and are usually surrounded by the sea, rivers or even mountains. Developers have now tapped into this growing number of customers who wish to own weekend pads of their own and this boosted real estate markets in areas which are strictly holiday destinations.
Weekend homes in places like Khandala, Lonavala and Alibaug are immensely popular with buyers in Mumbai while several tourist hotspots in Himachal Pradesh and the mountains are popular with residents of Delhi, Punjab and other cities. Mumbai residents always prefer going down to either the sea laced Alibaug or the mountain flanked Lonavala for their weekends. Developers have started developing several premium homes and bungalows in areas like these. Bungalows and villas were the most preferred weekend homes but several premium apartments are also being built. 3 and 4 BHK housing options are mostly provided by developers in these cases as spacious living is something buyers like to experience far away from the city.
These second weekend homes offer easy and smooth access to lovely mountain views or sea views in most cases. These are highly demanded by customers even though there is a proliferation of such homes in other tourist spots without such accompanying scenery. These homes are quite expensive and pinch the pocket quite highly even in comparison to city properties at times. Some of these residential bungalow or villa communities even come with several amenities like club houses, gymnasiums, swimming pools and party lawns in addition to strict security services as these homes remain empty for long periods of time. Investments in these homes make for decent propositions as they can be registered as commercial properties and let out as holiday homes or serviced apartments for earning good rentals during tourist seasons.
