Photo: iStock.com / Evgeny Kharitonov
The format of suburban investment properties is often compared to apartments. So far, players are just beginning to explore the young, developing market, where there is a place for successful recreational projects, as well as to fill cones and gain experience. According to St. Petersburg Real Estate, since last year, the number of companies offering to invest in suburban projects in the Leningrad region has increased 2.5 times. The participants of the Fontanka round table told what is happening in the market of collective investments in suburban facilities.
Find and attach
As told Olga Trosheva, head of the St. Petersburg Real Estate Consulting Center, now suburban investment projects are mostly small: houses with plots from 13 to 17. However, there are isolated projects where there are more than 50 buildings. There is also an offer on the market for mini-projects with no more than five lots. Basically, small cottages ranging from 53 to 85 square meters are offered as an investment lot. m on plots of 4-5 acres and a purchase budget of 6 million rubles. At the same time, network management companies are not represented in the suburban investment area, and companies organize their own.
— The largest number of suburban investment projects is currently being proposed in three districts of the region: Vyborgsky — 43%, Vsevolozhsky — 29%, Lomonosovsky — 21%, — Trosheva continued. — Resort facilities are located nearby (in 79% of cases), natural or artificial reservoirs. 71% of the projects are located at a distance of up to 40 km from the ring road.
Recently, this format has been actively developing, especially in Moscow, where there are already dozens of such complexes. As Kirill Kudinov, founder and owner of the investment and construction company Inreit, noted, St. Petersburg is coming a little late, but even here the market is developing very quickly.
— The main option is a recreation center in the form of separate houses at a distance from each other, such a secluded format, — he clarified. — As for the location, the bases are scattered throughout the Leningrad region. So far, there are few of them: I would say there are about 15 brands of such profitable real estate in the region. At the same time, the volume of construction of new projects is gradually increasing. The moment on the market is very interesting now, it somewhat resembles the market of apartment hotels 6-7 years ago: projects are just beginning to be built, developers are looking for the right models, make mistakes, gain experience and gradually begin to produce a really interesting product.
Albina Maslova, founder and co-owner of the NORKE network,added: The maximum of such facilities is concentrated around two capitals. For several years now, suburban bases in Karelia have been developing and showing good profitability. There are fairly low prices for construction, building materials and land — plus the state actively helps in terms of bringing communications, roads, and electricity. According to the expert, those locations where there are really a lot of tourists, but almost zero level of service, will receive a boom in development. Such places are scattered all over Russia.
— For example, Altai — there is beautiful nature, you can put at least one house on a hundred acres, and at the same time there are absolutely no big players in management, — says Maslova. — Of course, not everyone will go skiing in Altai. But over the past 2-3 years, all major ski resorts in Russia have received a powerful development of recreation centers around. Also, houses and villages appear along the main rivers and tourist routes: the Volga, the Oka, the Golden Ring. The flow of tourists there is huge, and there is practically nowhere to stay in decent places.
She noted that Moscow and St. Petersburg are already moving away from the trend for non—standard house shapes – triangles, frames, some tent solutions, hemispheres. This year, the standard rectangular bars are returning. In a few years, the trend will come to regions where they are still “dabbling” in unusual designs.
At one time, all investors rushed to buy apartments, because it was simple, understandable, there were no pitfalls, recalled Artyom Chugai, lead partner manager at Maslov Group Development. According to him, the market is now full, and people are waiting for something really worthwhile to appear in order to invest money there. The suburban area has developed very gradually in this regard, but over the past few years it has gained momentum and reached good indicators. There are many glamping sites and inexpensive houses in Karelia, Moscow, and Leningrad regions.
— More than 8 million people live in St. Petersburg, and most of them have weekends on schedule, everyone wants to relax, — he says. — There is not enough entertainment for everyone, so people go out of town. And the market is starting to change, because people have tried to live not in the most comfortable conditions — these are glamping, inexpensive small houses of the A-frame type, or even trailer cabins. Now they want to get a certain service for the money they are charged. And comprehensive offers are beginning to come to the fore: not only accommodation, but also food and entertainment on the territory. Such “service” recreation centers are beginning to receive their legitimate consumer. There is a simple connection: somewhere there is a large flow of vacationers and a shortage of accommodation places — the logical consequence will be the arrival of investors there with both simple products and large budgets and land volume.
— Since we are engaged in construction, people come to us with two goals — to build a house for subsequent sale or for rent,” said Alexey Grishchenko, CEO of the Finnish House company. — The trend has become stronger since the pandemic due to the closure of borders and the general outflow from the city. I would highlight such areas as construction for resale, construction of detached houses for short-term or long-term rent, construction of recreation centers.
According to the expert, settlements can be divided into two types. The first one is recreational, for rent. Rather, the north, the Karelian Isthmus, is traditionally attractive here. There is more interesting nature, more reservoirs — just what is associated with recreation. Moreover, even places far from the city are in demand. The second type is settlements for sale. This is usually interesting for those who want a house for permanent residence, so transport and social infrastructure are in the first place here — closer to the city, schools, shops, etc.
A house as an investment
There are various formats of participation for the buyer in such investment projects, continues Artem Chugai. This is the purchase of the whole, the purchase of shares, the division of land and a house, when one can be the owner of the land, the second can rent the land from him and rent a house there.
— Specifically in our company, we consider it a winning story when an investor owns both a land plot and a house — this is a fairly strong investment guarantee, — says the expert. — There is our management company, the profitability is prescribed in the contract. We make a simple and understandable product without any variables. For example, we had a client who wanted to enter into a similar project for 30 million rubles using the boiler method of revenue distribution. But they also offered him to buy bicycles together with other investors in order to rent them out. To which a reasonable question arose: how can these bikes be controlled? So we relied on simplicity of conditions, fixed income, good quality houses and today we are rapidly developing the Leningrad region.
— We followed the same path, — Kirill Kudinov added. — There are different offers on the market now. Some offer to enter in small lots, but at the same time they do not sell the land. The advantage for the investor here is that you can enter with a small check, on the other hand, there is no clear and clear product. We are selling a lot — land plus a building. This is as transparent and understandable as possible, since a person has property assigned to him. As for demand, there is an advantage in suburban real estate in the form of preferential mortgages. This significantly distinguishes this format from, for example, the same urban apartments. An investor can enter with a minimum down payment of one million and a half and after 6-8 months reach the first payments, which will cover mortgage payments. That is, he will have an object that pays for itself. There is also demand due to the fact that there are not so many offers on the market, the product is still gaining momentum.
— We went from shares to the largest recreation centers, as investors who have already worked with us in apartments sometimes really want to come in small amounts, — says Albina Maslova. — Now we allow you to enter the share with an amount of 300-500 thousand rubles. At the same time, we buy at least half of it ourselves — investors are calm, knowing that we also participate in the lot on an equal basis with them. Of course, there is an opportunity to buy the whole house itself at a price of 3.7 million rubles. For those who want to come in with large sums — from 20 million rubles — we offer joint participation in the creation of a country cottage settlement. If you choose the right land for it, then almost half of the cost of the houses themselves and the infrastructure — cafes, swimming pools and so on — is compensated by the state. Therefore, with a large amount, it is optimal not to buy several houses, but to create your own recreation center right from scratch, receiving help from the state. We are now focusing not even on mortgage programs, but on grants. The construction period of the first houses is 3-4 months, and they are launched together with communications, so that the return on investment begins quickly enough.
— The recreational format, in my opinion, is not the easiest option, since there are many requirements for the place, maintenance costs, and seasonality, — says Alexey Grishchenko. — From the point of view of long-term investments, I would consider construction for a long-term lease with the possibility of subsequent sale as a more interesting option. It is easier to manage such real estate, the payback is faster than that of an apartment. But such facilities must be done with sufficient quality to be rented for good money. Most of those who are going to build for the purpose of quick resale or for rent are too carried away by the desire to return the money as quickly as possible. This leads to the appearance of low-quality houses and can go sideways. The phrase “house for sale” is already associated with something of poor quality, made somehow – just to sell it quickly.
According to Olga Trosheva, most of the lots are purchased in their entirety. Only in some projects the shared format of joining the project was used — 1/20, 1/3, 1/4 shares. Now this investment option has been preserved only in isolated cases. Half of the projects are located on residential housing lands, about 20% are for recreation. In the offer, major players have both ready-made households and the possibility of concluding a construction contract, smaller projects often offer the second option.
— Guaranteed income is actively offered in suburban investment projects, especially at the beginning of construction and sales, the validity period is usually from a year, — she added. — On average, they promise 10-12% per annum of the invested funds. The average monthly income in this case ranges from 55 to 90 thousand rubles per month. The boiler method of income distribution prevails: a group of investors gives 25-30% of the revenue to the management company, and the rest is distributed among investors in proportion to investments. While the segment is just being formed, the average rate of transactions for the most popular projects in the Leningrad region was 2-3 households per month in the second half of 2023. Large suburban developers can allocate part of the cottage settlement array for the implementation of such complexes. However, there are projects from urban developers — suburban ones with hotel infrastructure for recreation — that will be sold to private investors. In addition, companies have begun to actively attract investors to the development of internal infrastructure. For example, in business units with bath complexes, which are more profitable due to hourly rental.
In general, according to the expert, with the advent of more affordable mortgage programs and preferential terms, the buyer became more willing to purchase cottages. With this in mind, the demand for their construction will increase in 2024, and in order to maintain effective demand, the price level for houses will be maintained by developers at a level comparable to 2023.
At the request of the guests
Kirill Kudinov believes that the target audience of a certain recreation center strongly depends on the concept, and with its help it is possible to regulate the contingent of guests. Either this is a family vacation, or for young people, or some kind of mix. It largely depends on the infrastructure nearby.
— Trips abroad have become more expensive, and most citizens prefer them to rest at country bases, — he clarifies. — Therefore, the depth of booking increases from the previously popular two or three days to vacation formats for 7-10 days. There are quite a lot of applicants, but the market is just forming. There are many recreation centers that, to put it mildly, are morally and physically outdated. New modern facilities are in demand even in low season and off-season.
— We entered the country market because we were asked by guests who come to Moscow for work and stay in our chain of hotels and apartments, they know our brand and service, — says Albina Maslova. — They also wanted to get facilities outside the city with an appropriate level of service and technology, rather than visiting dubious bases in the early 2000s. That is, they need a standard — and we provide it.
As for seasonality, according to Maslova, this is the determining factor of the whole concept. That is, either these should be universal locations, or objects should be made purely winter or only summer.
— We have made several settlements in Karelia only for summer, — the expert continued, — but if we talk about the Golden Ring and Moscow projects, then there is a completely different type of wooden houses in which it is comfortable to live both in winter and in summer. It is extremely difficult for many players who have 5-10 houses to fill them out of season, so the marketing program plays a big role here. Seasonality will be provided by large market players with large marketing budgets, and it will be more difficult for the “kids” in this regard.
— When we entered the country market, we decided that these would not be point stories, but a network of recreation centers under the Opushka House monobrand, and each of our locations would have its own purpose and meaning, — said Artem Chugai. — For example, we have a recreation center near the Igora ski complex. At the same time, for those who do not want to relax in winter at a ski resort, in summer it is just a good place to relax next to the nature reserve. A cross-section of the guests who came in September showed that they were mostly married couples who just want to spend time in nature. Now we are finishing the construction of a recreation center on Alexandrovsky Lake, which we position as a place of “digital detox”. We are planning the next ones, for example, in the format of a beach holiday in a closed club — a format that is more familiar to Muscovites. Conceptually, our task is to ensure that the customer who came to us once will travel with us the next time.
— In recent years, due to well—known reasons (pandemic, border closures, etc.), tourist interest has been actively focused on domestic tourism and recreation, – Olga Trosheva added. — However, it is not necessary to compare an urban apartment hotel and a country facility, since the purposes of their stay are still different. The countryside is primarily interesting for natural sites and seasonal recreation. Points of attraction are important, which is even more important in the off-season than in the city. During the pandemic, not only the trend towards rapprochement with nature has intensified, but also towards maintaining a healthy lifestyle, therefore, new-format baths and SPA complexes are in demand in suburban projects.
According to her, the main stakeholders in renting suburban units are couples, small companies and families with children. And each audience requires its own infrastructure. Outside of the active season, the services of country complexes are used by groups aimed at wellness practices: retreats, yoga tours, etc. The presence of a diverse own infrastructure reduces dependence on the season. Natural objects on the project territory, interesting design of public recreation areas, organization of the site (barbecue, furako, campfire area and recreation area) — such solutions help to avoid the influence of seasonality. In addition, the location next to resort facilities can support demand: for example, all-season resorts with ski slopes, rope parks and a golf club. In good locations, within two hours of the city by car, everything is booked for several months in advance. According to management companies, demand increased by 30% compared to 2022, and by another 25% on summer days.
Find an object
The first players made certain mistakes, did not do everything right, and gained invaluable experience due to this, Kirill Kudinov emphasizes. And current market participants have the opportunity, although not to be the first to collect the cream, but to take into account the experience of colleagues.
— Since this year, we have launched two new projects. Initially, we decided to take either something very good or nothing, so we searched for plots for them for exactly a year,” he says. — Our first project is located on the Vuoksa River near Losevo — there will be a sauna complex as a separate investment lot, a playground, all kinds of leisure formats. The second recreation center is located on the shore of Lake Otradnoye. We focus not only on relaxing by the water, but also on activity both in summer and winter. In summer, such facilities are in demand by 95% regardless of the concept, and in the off-season and winter, the required level of utilization is achieved only through some internal and external solutions that provide leisure for guests at this time.
— Location by the water is important for us, and if it is not so difficult to find a project near the first coastline in St. Petersburg, then in Moscow it is very difficult. That’s why we left Moscow and started looking in other regions,” Albina Maslova continued. — Our locations are the coastline of the Oka, the White Sea coast in Karelia, and an island on the Volga. The second thing we pay attention to is the status of the territory. That is, we are trying to look for special recreational-type lands. There are very few of them — in fact, they were initially chosen by the state as places for the construction of tourist bases. We are looking for points where there are many travelers and few places to relax. The most striking example is Yesenin’s homeland, where the poet’s museum is visited by 600 thousand people a year, but they simply have nowhere to stay nearby. And, of course, the infrastructure inside the base is important — we are no longer considering options without a sauna or spa complex. It is very desirable to have a swimming pool and at least a cafe, or better yet, a cafe and a restaurant. And, of course, activities — bicycles, boats, ATVs. Sport plus beautiful nature is the most sought—after “combo”.
The construction of recreation centers is also linked to the investment component of this process. As Artyom Chugai noted, it is important for customers not only what they buy — a land plot and a house — but also what can be done with this lot later.
— For example, you can rent a house to a management company for five years, and then you want to leave the project, — he continued. — And not all lots are convenient for getting out of the investment history: for example, when trying to sell shared ownership, there are many difficulties (unwillingness of owners of other shares, death of one of them and cases with heirs, court decisions on other shares, etc.). Therefore, it is important for our company that our facilities have a good understandable status of the land is the land of the SNT, DNP and IHS. In combination with a mortgage, this works simply and clearly for an investor with a return on investment in the form of a guaranteed income. If he wants to exit the product, we resell his finished lot to a new investor.
When will the money be returned
Artyom Chugai I have decomposed the issue of payback into three components. The first is the cost of land. In the Leningrad region, it has now increased from 320 thousand per hundred to 320-370 thousand rubles. The second is the country house itself. If it is suitable for year—round living, it is put on cadastral registration as a full-fledged residential building – this is also a certain cost. And the third component is just an investment story with an increase in value.
— We are currently focused on about 20 places in the pleasant accessibility of St. Petersburg, at most an hour away, — the expert added. — And the land that suits us is very limited. From our experience of resale of such objects, we can talk about 10-15% per annum only due to the increase in land value. This is comparable to the profitability of apartments and greatly benefits from residential real estate. The story is new for the market, and we still need to find our investor who will enter the resale cycle, that is, building from scratch and selling either at the time of launch or a year later. It’s difficult so far, but we have such clients. People invest money, get returns, and when they want, they come out with a certain amount of capital. When buying a mortgage, the investment looks even more attractive: when you invest two million in an early cycle, you can get up to 50 thousand rubles a month.
— Before entering this market, we studied various recreation centers, formats, concepts for a long time, made our forecasts, — says Kirill Kudinov. — In general, any profitable real estate is a story about two types of profitability: capitalization and rental profitability. The capitalization of country houses in a similar format can be expected at the level of 10-15%. Rental yield with pessimistic forecasts can be about 12% per annum. The payback period is about 8 years. According to this parameter, today it is one of the best offers on the commercial real estate market. At the same time, 12% is if you buy the object in full for the entire amount. If the investor applies preferential mortgage programs, the yield can grow to 30% per annum.
— Indeed, at the moment, rural settlements are the most profitable story when investing in real estate, — continued Albina Maslova. — It’s not for nothing that now all the biggest players have started to deal not only with apartments, but also with the country theme. Using the example of our projects in Karelia, the payback period took 2 and 3 years, but now we predict these terms to be slightly longer due to the rise in price of materials. Therefore, I would say that from the beginning to the completion of the construction, the capitalization of the object can range from 15 to 30%. Regarding the land, we went the other way — we are not looking for plots in top locations near large cities, but look at remote territories where beautiful lands cost 30 thousand rubles per hundred. And they immediately rise in price as soon as any point of attraction appears. Moreover, the construction of a recreation center causes an increase in prices for all areas around. Therefore, in total, a minimum of 30% per annum is obtained with the construction site. This figure can be up to 50%, with the rare format of large investments, where the state provides another 50% of the cost with grants. There, indeed, the payback period can reach 2-3 years for large and even medium-sized investors coming with sums of 20-30 million.
Boom, but careful
Alexey Grishchenko believes that the prospects for the segment are great, but it is necessary to “enter” this topic from the outside carefully, since there are many pitfalls. The expert advises paying attention to two areas that are still poorly spread, but will be in great demand in the near future.
— This is the construction of suburban facilities for long—term lease and an interesting format that has not yet been developed in our country at all, but is common in Finland — “cottage — rent”, – he continued. — That is, when you build a cottage for yourself, but use it in the “rented from yourself” mode when you want to come, and the rest of the time you rent to other people by the day. I am almost sure that this format will gradually develop in connection with the increase in the cost of building and maintaining a country house. At some point in time, you will think: why did I invest XX million in a cottage where I visit a total of a couple of months a year — maybe I should start renting it out?
— Interest in apartments as an investment is waning due to the low profitability of most apartment complexes. According to statistics for St. Petersburg, projects in residential or near—residential areas now show 5-6% per annum, and only top locations in the center give profitability at the level of 12-13% per annum, – says Kirill Kudinov. — Interest in suburban real estate is really growing, and, of course, there are risks of saturation of the market. As in any competitive market, those players who have a good location, a unique trading offer, and management experience will become leaders here. This again shows a parallel with the apartments.
The long-term forecast is quite optimistic, and the development of the segment will not be hindered even by the fact that abroad may suddenly become more accessible, Albina Maslova believes. Just because you can’t fly to Turkey every weekend, but going somewhere in Russia for 2-3 days is a reality, as is the trend to work remotely, but not from your apartment.
— Saturation of the market, of course, will happen, — she added. — And the big players here will always win against the “kids”. It’s like with grocery stores: few people go to nouname now, everyone has already chosen a large chain brand for themselves, which they are used to. Therefore, the market is a bit dangerous for small players, but for big ones it is promising for years to come.
Artyom ChugaiHe noted a number of dangers for small and medium-sized companies. And they are not even in competition with major players, but that in the coming years large construction holdings have been announced to enter the suburban market. They are now starting to buy up land plots in order to subsequently develop suburban projects, including integrated development. According to him, the prospect of “competing” with them does not look so rosy for small and medium-sized businesses. It will also be difficult for those who tried to create a semblance of a suburban service in the city — now such projects are developing near the agglomeration, they are affordable, there are more and more offers, and demand is also growing.
“The good news is that the government is also meeting business halfway,” he says. — The same Arctic mortgage opens the door for us, investment and construction companies, to explore the north, where there are really popular tourist routes in godforsaken places with the level of amenities of the 70s and 80s. People with money come there, they want to get adequate service, and we will try to help them with this
According to Olga Trosheva, over the past two years, additional factors have appeared to increase demand, and further development of the segment of suburban recreational complexes can be expected. However, in order for the project to be financially successful, it is necessary to find its market niche and develop a verified concept. For example, if the project is located in an ecologically clean area, this can be an important advantage over competitors. It is also worth considering social trends: for example, the increasing interest in a healthy lifestyle and environmentally friendly products.
Also, in her opinion, the all-Russian tourism trends will have an impact on the local market of suburban accommodation facilities, as a result of which domestic tourists will form the basis of the flow. This will allow the segment of suburban hotels in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region to develop further due to the presence of unique natural characteristics of the region.
— In addition to the format of standard accommodation facilities (hotel rooms, cottages, townhouses) The glamping segment will be actively replenished with new facilities, which allows you to build a room stock in a fairly short time,” she summed up. — In addition, modern trends in housing construction make it possible to build such buildings for year-round use. Taking into account the all-Russian trends in the development of the tourism sector, the segment of country hotels will continue to actively develop in 2024.
Photo: iStock.com / Evgeny Kharitonov
Источник: www.fontanka.ru
English 
Russian 
German 
Polish