New York Times: Golf Homeownership Is Heating Up
After several years of falling out of favor, golf homes are once again in high demand.
According to Sotheby’s International Realty 2021 Luxury Outlook report, the pandemic has renewed interest in owning a golf home: sothebysrealty.com saw a 26 percent increase in golf property searches globally from January 2020 to February 2021, compared with the same period in 2019. Sales have also increased, says Philip A. White Jr., president of Sotheby’s International Realty and an avid golfer. “2020 was the year that golf homes became hot commodities,” he says.
Golf homes became less popular before the pandemic because interest in the game had slowed and the market was oversaturated with golf properties, according to Doug Treadwell, the owner of Golf Life Properties, which sells golf homes in the United States to international buyers. The pattern reversed, he said, over the last year.
Mr. Treadwell said that Golf Life Properties sold around $85 million in properties last year; in 2019, that number was $40 million. “Following five plus years of flat or declining sales, we did a 180,” he said. “Golf properties offer privacy and security, which is what home buyers want right now.”
But rather than seek out established golf markets such as Naples, Fla., and Portugal’s Algarve region, buyers today are looking to emerging areas around the world with better values and fewer crowds.
Up-and-coming spots:
Loire Valley, France
France isn’t known for golf, but the Loire Valley is fast changing that, said Mr. White, of Sotheby’s International Realty. A two-and-a-half-hour drive from Paris, the region was where French royalty summered in their castles and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its beauty and cultural landscape.
There are 15 courses in Loire, said Grégory Thouzé, an agent with Bretagne Sud Sotheby’s International Realty, in France, and many are near golf estates or within communities.
Golf International Barriere La Baule, with three courses spanning 540 acres, a driving range and a putting green, is the largest. Another option is Les Bordes Golf Club, which has two courses and is expected to open a third in July designed by the American golf course architect Gil Hanse; all are surrounded by forests.
The club introduced real estate in 2020 with 48 homes ranging in size from two to seven bedrooms and with prices starting at around $1 million; 48 more residences will debut this fall. A spokeswoman for the property, Kerry McClinton-King, said that most buyers were from Britain, the Netherlands and the United States.
The Loire is an attractive area to own a golf home, said Mr. White, because of its proximity to Paris and the availability of diversions beyond golf. “You have a lot of history and great wine country,” he said.
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