Waterfront homes and skyscraper condos boasting of panoramic views of the city's skyline may be prized luxury properties but when it comes to return on investment, nothing can beat homes or resort residences located in skiing attractions.
According to Knight Frank's latest ski property report, demand for properties in the snow clad mountains all across the globe has ramped up considerably pushing prices up.
The report, which monitors property prices in ski attractions in 20 countries, found that prices went up 5.9 percent in major resort locations. Prices soared in North America - the most increasing 13.3 percent on an average for the period of the year ending June 2014.
Aspen, Colo., saw prices increasing the most in the United States with a 20.7 percent year-on-year average rate hike. The area was ranked second in the list of the priciest ski resort places. Queenstown in New Zealand topped the list as prices in the area advanced 24.8 percent over the period.
"The rise of the 'super-chalet' as a rental option is a recent phenomenon. Some are 800 square meters or larger and located in unrivaled positions in the top resorts such as Courchevel (in France)," CNBC quoted the Knight Frank report.
But prices seemed to go up only one percent in Europe and four percent in Russia.
"With the Winter Olympic snow over it remains to be seen whether the Russian city of Sochi will break into the big league of European resorts. The suspicion is it will continue to cater almost exclusively for a domestic clientele," according to the report.
These ski resorts do yield a great return on investment. The Wall Street Journal points out that the ski resorts provide a return of 6.7 percent, while a property in central London would only yield 2.8 percent on investment.
"The estimates are based on owners putting their property in a rental pool and thus benefiting from a 20% (VAT) rebate on the sold price," Roddy Aris of Knight Frank London explained to the Journal.
Going forward, experts expect prices to go up as the seasonal trend starts to buck in.
"As a result (of better access to ski resorts), demand for property there is expected to rise, as are average prices. Generally, there is a feeling that right now an investment in the French Alps represents good value for money compared to France's other foreign hot spot, the Riviera, where prices are comparatively higher," Julian Walker at Skiingproperty.com said in a statement.
Read more on the seasonal trends of home hunting here. Also read our coverage on luxury property here.
