immo!nvest – Die Plattform für Standorte und Immobilien

Tag: Ferienwohnungen

  • Sustainable holiday concepts receive growth capital

    Sustainable holiday concepts receive growth capital

    The Zug-based private equity firm Limestone Capital has acquired 30 per cent of the shares in Nokken, a provider of ecological holiday flats from the UK.

    Nokken intends to use the investment to expand its market position in Europe and the USA and to enter the Asian and Austro-Asian markets. The funds will primarily be used to enter into strategic partnerships with landowners and operators, acquire key parts of Nokken’s supply chain and expand sales and marketing capabilities. “The investment is a milestone for Nokken and a validation of our vision for the future of the hospitality industry,” said Nathan Aylott, co-founder of Nokken, in a press release,

    Nokken focuses on nature-based experiences that are lower cost, quick to implement and more appealing to guests. The company’s “retreat” model with the modular design of its holiday cabins enables scalable nature experiences while minimising land impact, using ecological materials and avoiding the high infrastructure requirements of conventional construction methods, according to the company.

    Limestone Capital is committed to investing in experience-focused platforms with over €1bn AUM (assets under management) in the lifestyle and hospitality sectors. The partial acquisition of Nokken signals the capital firm’s commitment to sustainable businesses in the hospitality industry: “This investment is not just pure capital – it is a partnership based on shared values,” said Grazi Panelli, CEO of Limestone Capital. “Nokken offers meaningful, nature-based experiences without compromising on design or environmental responsibility.”

  • Holiday apartment market in the Alpine region shows stable demand despite price decline

    Holiday apartment market in the Alpine region shows stable demand despite price decline

    The UBS Alpine Property Focus 2025 evaluates the development of the holiday apartment market in the Alpine region. Five Swiss destinations top the price ranking. Engadin/St.Moritz GR takes first place with at least 22,300 francs per square metre. The top 5 are completed by Verbier VS, Zermatt VS, Gstaad BE and Andermatt UR. Prices for Alpine holiday flats rose by 2.3 per cent last year amid high demand.

    The emergence of hybrid forms of work after 2020 triggered the current high demand, according to a press release from UBS. Alpine holiday flats have become around 30 per cent more expensive since 2020. The year 2024 saw subdued price increases in the Alpine region. Prices in French and Italian destinations rose by an average of 4 per cent and in Swiss locations by 3 per cent. In Austria, they fell by 3 per cent.

    “In the short term, the price trend in the Alpine region is likely to weaken further over the next few quarters,” says Maciej Skoczek, property economist at UBS and lead author of the study. Alpine holiday flats are in high demand, but the subdued economic outlook and inflation are weighing on households, says the economist.

    The study assesses the prospects for Swiss property positively. In the face of geopolitical turbulence, this property is very popular as a safe investment. Lower mortgage interest rates and a low supply of holiday flats are also supporting Swiss prices.

    The study sees risks for the holiday apartment market in regulatory intervention: The relaxation of the Second Homes Act is likely to ease the supply situation, while the planned tightening of the Lex Koller will regulate property purchases for foreigners more strictly, according to UBS. These interventions will dampen the price trend in the luxury segment.

  • UBS sees holiday flats at a turning point

    UBS sees holiday flats at a turning point

    The prices for holiday flats in Switzerland have risen by an average of 7 per cent year-on-year in 2022, UBS informs in a press release on its current “UBS Alpine Property Focus“. The real estate experts of the big bank have identified the biggest jumps with increases of 15 to 20 percent in the destinations of Arosa, Hoch-Ybrig, Flims/Laax and Engelberg. With prices of around 20,500 Swiss francs per square metre, the Engadin/St.Moritz destination currently leads the ranking of the most expensive second homes in the upscale segment.

    Since autumn 2022, however, experts have observed a slowdown in the price increase. According to Maciej Skoczek, real estate economist at UBS CIO GWM and lead author of the study, it will continue in the coming quarters. “A period of stagnating prices is on the horizon,” Skoczek predicts.

    According to UBS’s findings, the demand drivers from the pandemic years have now lost their power. “Hybrid working, coupled with a relocation of the primary residence to the Alpine region” was only used during the pandemic, and the holidays shifted to the home country will be replaced by trips abroad again when the restrictions are lifted.

    The pandemic left behind around 20 per cent higher prices for two-flats, UBS writes. According to their surveys, the total cost of buying an average flat has also risen to twice the cost of 2019 due to higher interest rates. “Some holiday home owners will consider selling to realise capital gains while escaping the increased costs,” Skoczek says.

  • Second Homes Act affects real estate markets less than expected

    Second Homes Act affects real estate markets less than expected

    On March 12, 2012, the Swiss population accepted the second home initiative. The corresponding Second Homes Act stipulates that no additional holiday homes or houses may be built in communities with more than 20 percent second homes. Experts feared that if the initiative were accepted, the prices for corresponding real estate in the tourist areas would explode.

    Ten years later, these fears have not been confirmed, writes the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts ( HSLU ) in a statement . Researchers at the HSLU have examined the effects of the Second Homes Act in two studies. According to the results, house prices did not increase until 2018, but instead actually decreased.

    “The acceptance of the initiative has led to a panic-like flood of last-minute building applications,” the head of the relevant study, Daniel Steffen, is quoted as saying in the statement. “Ironically, this has caused a temporary oversupply.” It was only with the outbreak of the pandemic that the demand for apartments in the tourist mountain regions increased. “Today, prices are roughly back to the level at which model calculations show they would be even without the second home initiative,” says Steffen.

    The hotel industry and mountain railways also felt only minor consequences of the new regulation, as is further explained in the communication. Only the hotel industry’s model of cross-financing renovations through the construction and sale of second homes is restricted by the Second Homes Act. In the construction industry, however, the researchers identify significant impairments for construction companies active in the affected communities. “In particular, larger, strategically broad-based companies” are already “orientated more towards the valley floor, where orders are not so heavily dependent on the construction of second homes,” the head of the corresponding study, Stefan Lüthi, is quoted in the statement.

    “Looking at all sectors, it can be expected that the effects of the Second Homes Act will only be noticeable in the coming years,” the HSLU researchers state.

  • Andermatt Swiss Alps AG sells a third more apartments

    Andermatt Swiss Alps AG sells a third more apartments

    Andermatt Swiss Alps AG continues to see high demand for holiday apartments in the new Andermatt Reuss part of the village. The Andermatt-based company has completed a total of 420 units since construction began in 2007. 408 of them have been sold, 100 of them in the current year alone, according to a press release . That is another increase in sales of more than a third compared to 2020.

    In the coming months, the company will hand over 130 new apartments around Piazza Gottardo to the owners. The place is on an infrastructure base called a podium. This is to be expanded to 20,000 square meters in order to be able to build more houses.

    “This is one of the largest construction projects in the Alps and enables us to expand the Andermatt Reuss part of the village by a further 16 apartment buildings and two shopping streets with retail and gastronomy offers,” CEO Raphael Krucker is quoted as saying in the media release.

    Two houses will go on sale this winter. Haus Elva will accommodate eleven apartments, each with up to four bedrooms. 18 apartments with one and two bedrooms are being built in Haus Mira.

    Andermatt Swiss Alps AG plans, builds and develops the year-round destination Andermatt in the Alps. At the end of the day, the project should encompass a total of 2000 residential units with up to 10,000 beds in apartment buildings, hotels and chalets.