SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - Nestled in the snow-capped mountains of the Swiss Alps, some 1,400m above sea level, Koya was sold out in just two weeks. The development’s 34 mezzanine-style apartments are located in Andermatt Swiss Alps, an all-year-round holiday destination in Switzerland. (See also: Vaccination lottery: a peek at the $1.9 mil flat aimed at moving the needle in Hong Kong's fight against Covid-19)
Designed by architect Raf Dauwe of Zurich-based architecture practice OOS, Koya takes after Japanese aesthetics, boasting wooden, contemporary fixtures. The majority of the apartments feature a mezzanine level and a double-height living space, with ceiling heights reaching up to five metres. All of its apartments have been designed to maximise space and light, with double-height windows and built-in furniture.
Of the home buyers, the Swiss and Europeans make up over 80%, Singaporeans constitute almost 10%, while the remaining buyers are from the rest of the world, shares Maureen Yeo, regional director, Asia, at Andermatt Swiss Alps AG. The apartments are priced from CHF350,000 ($517,000) upwards.
Owners of Koya’s apartments can receive an annual return of about 3% from placing their units in Andermatt Swiss Alps’ rental programme. “We have an in-house team that helps to manage and market each of the units so that owners can generate an income when they are not using their apartments,” says Yeo.
Homeowners have full flexibility on the duration of their stay, without any maximum limit imposed. “The remaining time that they are not using their apartments, they can utilise our rental programme,” says Yeo, noting that this would work as an 80%-20% owner-management split on the net revenue.
She adds: “We have a fair rotating system which allows every apartment to have an equal chance to be rented out. A quarterly income statement is provided to the owner on the performance of their unit.”
Andermatt is one of the regions in Switzerland where foreign investors can acquire property. No stamp duty is applicable to the purchase of properties in the location, and all properties are freehold.
“Koya was created with adventures and connectivity in mind — two trends that are expected to be on the rise in a post-pandemic world,” says Yeo.
On the ground floor, there are shared amenities like a winter garden, piazza and a dedicated wellness area, which enable residents to mingle with one another. Inside the units, homeowners can work remotely, or unwind with family and friends after a day of outdoor activities, she notes.
Andermatt Swiss Alps has observed that more Asians are seeking to own a “lifestyle property in the Swiss Alps for both utility and investment purposes”, notes Yeo. “As skiing becomes more popular in Asia, we are getting more enquiries and sales from Asian countries.”
It has also observed a trend where buyers are getting more conscious on sustainability issues, and are asking about the origins of building materials and energy sources used.
Although the coronavirus pandemic has largely been a harbinger of doom for the tourism market, Yeo notes that it actually had a “positive impact” on property sales. “We sold more properties in 2020 than we did the year before, [raking in] CHF76.6 million in 2020, a 25% increase compared to 2019.”
The group also notes that sale prices rose y-o-y across all property segments — studios, apartments and residences.
Yeo attributes this to the “market volatility that prompted investments into brick and mortar, coupled with the low interest rates”. She adds: “With Covid-19, people started to realise that they no longer need to work in the big cities. With working from home, our owners enjoy living in the Alps, going to the mountains while remaining connected.”
This has given a “fresh perspective on alpine living, positively pushing property sales and tourism stays”, adds Yeo.
Some of Andermatt Swiss Alps’ properties suffered a blow due to pandemic restrictions, although the group reported higher property sales for 2020 compared to 2019
However, some of Andermatt Swiss Alps’ properties were affected by pandemic restrictions. One of them, the Ski-Arena Andermatt-Sedrun, saw a y-oy decline in turnover by 8% to CHF24.5 million in the 2020 financial year. And in the winter of 2020-2021, which ran from October to February, turnover declined 42% y-o-y to CHF11.4 million as a result of Covid-19 restrictions.
Yeo is nonetheless optimistic that tourism will recover in the near future. “We’re hopeful for a positive development throughout this year and into 2022-23. We expect international travellers to come back quite soon. We also expect a kind of more sustainable tourism with more individual travel than group travel,” she notes.
"As Switzerland relaxes its Covid-19 restrictions, the outlook on tourism is becoming more and more positive as infection rates stabilise and the vaccination roll-out accelerates across the country.”