Alpine property offers good rental potential, new research suggests

Rental demand and year round tourism has boosted the Alpine property market with Austria offering the highest gross winter rental yield, according to a new report.

The research compiled by Alpine Homes and Savills Residential Research shows that despite the overall volume of UK holiday home buyers reducing between 2009 and 2011, the proportion of those investing in ski properties actually increased, to just over 9% of the UK holiday home market.

The popularity of buying Alpine properties has risen considerably in the last decade. The opportunity to benefit from a bolthole on the piste while maintaining the potential to generate rental income when not using it, means that 62% of people surveyed by Alpine Homes said they are now buying Alpine property for both lifestyle and investment reasons.

Ski tourism has witnessed a 26% decline since its peak in the 2007/2008 season when 1.2 million tourists visited the slopes. Despite this trend, Alpine destinations have increasingly opened up to summer tourism, enabling property owners and investors to benefit from a growing revenue stream of year round lettings.

Source: PropertyWire.com