It’s been more than a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, and we’re all still scrambling to get a shred of normalcy back into our lives. Some of us try to amuse ourselves by binge-watching new shows, discovering new games, and finding new hobbies. Others turn inwards, vanishing into the comforts of self-improvement and reflection. Yet some of us choose both, electing to enhance our lives by doing something both meaningful and money-smart, such as investing in vacation homes.
Indeed, in a world where trips have practically become a distant memory, a luxury vacation home is undoubtedly a dream come true. Through owning and staying in a luxury home like this, one can carve out a truly private space for oneself, even amid the messy urban jungle.
In this article, we will discuss the benefits of investing in vacation homes in the metro!
Buying any kind of property, whether in the city or the countryside, requires an enormous amount of investment — and there’s no doubt that you’d want to get your money’s worth. So is buying a home you won’t be staying in for the majority of your time even worth the investment?
Actually, vacation homes are good investments, and for a variety of reasons. According to CNN Business, many people buy a vacation home even before buying a home for themselves. Not only are they amazing vehicles for wealth, but vacation homes can also even be good for personal development. In this section, we’ll discuss the undeniable benefits of owning luxury homes for vacation purposes.
The Leandro luxury house model at Amore in Vista Alabang.
First and foremost, buying a vacation home gives you the double benefit of utility. It can be your private sanctuary, a place reserved specifically for relaxation. Although it’s nice to have your place where you stay for most of the year, sometimes things can get a little monotonous and boring. Having a vacation home is great since you can have a full-fledged vacation whenever you want, without going through the hassle of booking and logistics.
Vacation homes can also be a good source of passive income. Because you’re not staying in it all year-round, you can rent the place out to clients when you’re not using it. Not only can you generate extra income, but you’re also helping other people keep themselves sane through the loneliness and isolation of quarantine.
As of October 2020, the vacation home market is on an upward trend. Pageviews for luxury properties are up by 50% compared to 2019, and even sales have increased by a significant percentage.
As mentioned, the quarantine measures have put us all on edge, forcing us to look for respites that don’t involve violating the travel restrictions. The mobility afforded by work-from-home setups and home-based schooling is also negating what used to be everyday considerations, such as daily commutes and all the time constraints that they bring. A combination of these factors drives the demand for vacation homes to new heights, which you can take advantage of quite easily as a new vacation-home owner.
Online platforms like Airbnb have been on the rise recently due to their convenience
The rise of rental platforms such as VRBO and Airbnb is making it easier to rent luxury homes in the Philippines. Young people, most especially, want simpler means of booking their stay. At the same time, they also value their privacy and freedom above all else. The technological advances of community-focused apps enable just that. With apps like Airbnb, customers can choose from a wide variety of places to stay, with more choices in terms of features and amenities.
These platforms also encourage friendly relationships between hosts and travelers, which can be a welcome difference to commercial accommodations’ standardized and alienating hospitality. Add to that the 24/7 customer support, secure payment protection, and assistance in case of emergencies, and you can see why rental platforms are taking a huge chunk of the accommodations industry.
Now that we know there is a surging market for vacation homes, we can then infer just how easy it is to ensure ROI in this industry. Indeed, one of the many benefits of a vacation home is the constant rate of ROI. This is because, aside from the fact that real estate investments appreciate over time, this specific niche of the market is in demand.
While not all properties will enjoy this particular benefit, vacation homes, in particular, are easy to optimize for constant ROI. For example, you can easily acquire vacation properties located in high capital gain areas that will increase in value over time. Vacation houses capitalize on geographic features, such as sceneries, tourist spots, and even the easy access and complete amenities of the metro.
These days, you can also buy preselling luxury lots for sale for a bargain. This ensures a high-profit margin. These factors combined make vacation properties easy to monetize. You can then gain immediate income by renting them out. As long as you do everything properly, it’s hard to have a losing bet on vacation homes.
A side view of the Duetto luxury model house at La Posada in Sucat, Muntinlupa.
Although this benefit isn’t unique to just vacation houses, it’s still a great opportunity that you can take advantage of. Vacation houses are a type of physical investment — one that is steadily becoming more in-demand. The population rises every year, and there’s always an influx of aspiring property owners, but the amount of land available stays the same. Investing in a vacation home ensures that your wealth is protected from inflation because any real-estate property will almost certainly rise in value over time.
More than that, vacation homes as an investment are also secure against market upsets, unlike other common investment vehicles such as stocks and bonds, which can swing at the whims of the market. This is illustrated by the recent global pandemic, which has created a lot of doubts and plunged the stock markets into dismal levels but has relatively left the real-estate market untouched worldwide.
We’ve now established that vacation homes are well and good, but what benefit is there to get one in the metro? Doesn’t a vacation home in the quiet countryside, with its peaceful atmosphere and fresh air, sound better?
Actually, while countryside vacation homes are all well and good, they suffer from a few faults, as well. These are easily avoidable when investing in vacation homes in the metro, especially in light of these modern challenges we’re all facing. In this section, we’re going to discuss exactly what those benefits are.
Vacation homes in the metro allow us to create our own haven without going too far out of the way. A safe and comfortable place where we can get away to whenever we want is even more important today than it was before. Due to Covid restrictions, we’re forced to stay in the confines of our primary homes for long periods of time.
Although we understand that these measures are for our own good, it doesn’t change the fact that it leaves us feeling cramped and trapped. Staying in one place for too long a time is no fun by anyone’s standards, even if that place is your beloved home. Having a vacation home in the metro is the perfect fix for this. You can easily get away from everything without having to go out of the city, which means you’re not affected by the travel restrictions.
Since it’s also your private dwelling, so you can invite family and friends over for a quiet afternoon of socializing as long as you follow safety protocols. The new environment is going to do wonders for your taxed mind, instead of just staying in the same place you’ve been living in all year.
Public transportation, like buses, in the metro, makes it easier to get around.
From establishing businesses to purchasing your dream luxury home, location matters. Especially in the vacation home market, location is an important factor. Although the quiet and peaceful countryside may be nice, nothing beats the convenience of the metro, where all commodities and amenities are within reach. This is arguably one of the best advantages that a luxury house and lot in the metro has over a rural one.
Looking to do something fun? Need to buy something new? Interested in going someplace else? When you’re in the metro, shopping malls and other places for relaxation and leisure are merely a taxi ride away. Purchases can be made easily and without hassle, and many services can even deliver items straight to your doorstep.
The internet and mobile signal connections tend to be consistently strong, as well, unlike in rural areas. In metro vacation houses, you won’t fear missing a family reunion, a call with your special someone, or even a work emergency, all because of the spotty internet.
Lastly, you’re sure to be more secure in urban areas compared to rural ones. Police stations, hospitals, and other emergency services are much nearer compared to the countryside. This takes a load off the mind — not just for you, but for potential renters as well.
Properties in the metro tend to rise in value rather quickly.
Appreciation happens the value of something rises over time. In the countryside, this can be slow and sluggish unless there’s already an established tourism sector. On the other hand, metros are prime areas for development and therefore tend to appreciate faster and higher. This is because there’s always more business being conducted in metropolitan areas almost every year.
Metropolitan areas, aside from being hubs that connect one tourist destination to another, are also rife with business activities that require accommodations. These can be workshops, seminars, conferences, competitions, and training in one way or another. Due to this, there will always be people looking for great places to stay — and with expenses typically paid for by their companies, they often aren’t particularly choosy about the price.
This makes sure that there’s always a market for vacation homes in the cities year-round, which can even be better than the seasonal business that rentals in the countryside bring.
Perhaps one of the most attractive benefits of having a luxury home in the Philippines is that it gives you the power of choice. You can stay in it yourself for vacations, or you can turn it into a business endeavor and rent it out. But because you truly own it, you can also just choose to live in it as your permanent home any time you choose.
Nothing beats the satisfaction and security of having a reserve home that you can easily switch into if things don’t work out or if you just want a little more variety in your everyday life. Having a vacation home in the metro affords you a choice. Again, it’s in a prime location, and it’s easily accessible and likely to be near prime commodities. There’s no problem with signal or internet connection, and it tends to be safer and more secure compared to rural areas. If you so choose, you can easily have a taste of these benefits for yourself.
Investing in metropolitan areas where there are plenty of jobs and businesses is always safer.
As much as real estate agents would like to call rural areas “up and coming” and “developing” areas, we have to face the facts.
Investing in undeveloped rural areas is basically the real estate version of gambling since their future is highly dependent on the whims of a cruel market. Tourists could lose interest and investors could pull out at any moment. If that happens, then a rural area with a once-bright future can suddenly find itself consigned into mediocrity. This means that your investments, too, will most likely be left to mediocrity.
On the other hand, metropolitan areas have proven value. They are stable rocks in the economy. Sure, they might suffer a dip in economic performance here and there, but once a place has become a developed city, it’s very unlikely for that status to be removed from it. It’s much likelier, in turn, for people to flock to the metros, making sure that cities will always be developing and always growing.
Thus, your wealth is much safer when invested in time-tested and market-proof areas, like in metropolitan cities.
In today’s day and age, it’s important to adapt and endure as best as we can. However, this doesn’t mean that we have to sacrifice luxuries and all the things that make life worth living. Vacation homes, especially those in the metro, are just some of those things — a respite from the chaos all around.
