Half of the resort properties are purchased to live there during the season with large-scale resort projects with developed infrastructure being preferred.
Analysts of FIVE, a property development company, together with NF Group, a consulting company, conducted a study of about 100 respondents living mainly in Moscow and St. Petersburg, as well as in cities of the Southern Federal District and abroad having experience in buying high-budget residential real estate in Moscow and Sochi. The study resulted in the identification of the main requirements of the customers to premium resort projects - what housing parameters were most important, what service and what infrastructure they wanted to see in the projects. 53% of the respondents noted that they bought resort properties to live there during the season. When choosing a project, every fifth person notes the importance of having their own beach/pier (21%) and a large private territory (19%). Already today, the vast majority of the customers (75%) want to live in a large-scale resort project with a developed infrastructure, and only 16% prefer a scaled-down option with minimal infrastructure and activities.
As the survey showed, half of the customers buy resort properties to live there during the season (53%), about a third of them do it as an investment (33%), the others buy them to live full time and/or as a trophy, status purchase.
When choosing a project, every fifth person notes the importance of having their own beach/pier (21%) and a large private territory (19%). This indicates that large-scale complex projects located on the seafront will stay in high demand. Already today, the vast majority of the customers (75%) want to live in a large-scale resort project with a developed infrastructure, and only 16% prefer a scaled-down option with minimal infrastructure and activities. Additional parameters noted by the respondents were good transport accessibility (15%), availability of a hotel or hotel service (16%), price expectations correspondence (12%) and others.
Developed infrastructure is a key element for a successful resort project. It can be present both in a hotel and in projects without a hotel block (managed by a facility management company). This is also confirmed by the survey data - only 2% of the respondents said that a minimum set of “essential” items is enough for them. At the same time, for half of the respondents (53%), the hotel infrastructure is sufficient (if there is a hotel on the same territory as the residential/apartment buildings), about a third (27%) expressed a desire to have the widest possible private infrastructure accessible only to its residents. The others chose access to both the hotel and private infrastructure.
“Today, in the resort segment of Russia, there are only a few projects that combine a hotel and housing. And hence the value of such facilities increases. It is due to the synergy of two different formats - hotel and residential or non-residential, in the case of apartments - that it becomes possible to provide the residents not only with a qualitatively new type of service, but also create an infrastructure that combines functionality for short-term recreation and full-time living. Such multifunctional resort projects that meet the stated quality requirements are the future,” says Elena Kabesheva, Commercial Director of FIVE, a property development company.
For resort projects, first of all, it is important to be located in close proximity to the “attraction” of the resort: the sea, the ski slope or the natural area. This is also reflected in the survey results. 44% of the respondents said that “green infrastructure” (proximity to park areas, nature reserves, greenery and landscaping within the project itself) and aqua-thermal function (pools, spas, saunas, jacuzzi, etc.) were important to them, when answering the question “What kind of infrastructure do you need?” The respondents also often mentioned the sport component, which correlates with the global trend for a healthy lifestyle, which is gaining popularity in Russia as well. The least interest was noted in the business component (availability of meeting rooms, conference rooms), which is largely determined by the resort status of housing.
“Resort real estate is aimed not only at ensuring that a person receives maximum opportunities for recreation, but that he/she is also able to restore his/her vitality. It is no coincidence that the respondents chose the facilities that promote wellness - now the wellness philosophy is more than just a fashionable concept. It becomes part of the modern culture. People want to lead a healthy lifestyle and feel great, both our research and the clients themselves confirm. This should be taken into account when building resort facilities,” adds Elena Kabesheva.
The service level and its content depend, first of all, on the class of the project. Thus, the service component is most extensively represented in deluxe-class projects, where potential customers set appropriate requirements for the quality and volume of services provided. The largest number of the customers are interested in receiving cleaning services (29%) and the possibility of trust management/renting out apartments (24%), as well as room service/cooking and delivery of dishes from a restaurant (18%).
According to Olga Shirokova, partner, regional director of the consulting and analytics department of NF Group, a consistently high interest in resort real estate is predicted in the medium and long term. Already today in Sochi, which traditionally occupies a special position as an “elite” resort, world-class projects at high prices have begun to appear, and in the future the number of such projects will only grow. The success of new resort residential complexes will largely depend on how they will meet the increased demands of the customers and be able to provide quality service and content at the level of similar facilities around the world. On the other hand, Shirokova notes, as for any residential complex, the reputation of the property developer, ergonomics and smart layouts, privacy and security, and the availability of modern engineering technologies are also important for resort real estate.