Wellness Real Estate is one of the fastest-growing markets today. In fact, the global market size for Wellness Real Estate is projected to grow at a CAGR of approximately 8 per cent from 2021 to 2023. With a growing number of conscious consumers realising how our existing environments negatively impact personal health, the demand for healthier-built homes will dramatically rise in the coming years.
From the Americas and Asia-Pacific to Europe and Africa, there’s a significant rise in consumer interest in extending wellness experiences from vacation destinations to our homes.
Let’s take a look at the top 5 key players that fuel the growth of the global wellness real estate market.
1. United States
With a staggering $52.5 Billion market size, the United States led the wellness real estate sector in terms of the sheer volume of projects and residential units. In fact, half the projects in the global wellness real estate pipeline are from the US.
Did you know that there are 1.3 million potential buyers each year in the US for wellness-infused homes and communities? This has caused a disconnect between demand and supply and thus created a sense of urgency that further heightens demand and lowers supply.
According to the Global Wellness Institute (GWI), the US wellness real estate market is driven by the availability of buildable land, robust population growth, and rising awareness of the negative consequences of urban sprawl over the last century.
2. China
In Asia, China has a speedy growth of wellness real estate projects, being second to the U.S. with a $19.9 Billion market size. To further nurture the market’s growth, a number of projects currently proposed or in development in China are on the cutting edge of green, biophilic, sustainable, and healthy design.
Liuzhou Forest City, the first forest city in the world, is one of its pioneer projects in this space, featuring offices, houses, hotels, hospitals and schools that are almost entirely covered by various plants and trees.
By 2023, China is predicted to be the prime driver of one-third of Asia-Pacific’s overall growth in wellness real estate.
3. Australia
Australia has been a trailblazer for the development of wellness real estate, placing them in the third spot, with an overwhelming $9.5 Billion market size.
In its 2018 Build Well to Live Well Report, the Global Wellness Institute revealed the following statistics that demonstrate Australians growing affinity for wellness-focused homes.
45% prefer homes close to a local park
50% wants access to paved walking paths
70% wants walking distance to public transport
64% wants walking distance to local services
Crazy rich Australians, or those whose net worth exceeds $30 million excluding their primary residence, have propped up the sales for wellness-centric luxury homes during the height of the pandemic, contributing 15.7% to our economy. In fact, Sydney is now the world’s top prime property market with prices rising 10 per cent as of June this year.
4. United Kingdom
The United Kingdom is another country leading the growth of Wellness Real Estate with a $9 Billion market size. Whilst the UK has fewer wellness projects in its portfolio compared to other countries, it concentrates its efforts on thoughtful and innovative planning and public policy approaches to improving built environments.
In fact, the symbiotic relationship between living environments and health outcomes has become a national focus a few years ago, spurring a number of initiatives. This includes the NHS England Healthy New Towns initiative in 2016, an All-Party Parliamentary Group to study and highlight health and cost impacts of healthy homes and buildings, and a variety of efforts through the Prince’s Foundation for Building Community and other organisations.
British property developers have also started to cast their attention on building wellness communities through the integration of health services into community design and in measuring the connection between home designs and residents’ wellbeing.
5. Germany
With $6 Billion, Germany ranked fifth in the top ten countries in terms of market size.
The rise of wellness real estate in Germany was triggered by a call for healthier-built workspaces. In the past years, 33 per cent of Germany’s full-time workers have reported difficulty in maintaining work-life balance. This served as a catalyst for German developers to rethink their projects and understand where they can incorporate wellness elements to create healthier-built spaces.
One of Germany’s most acclaimed wellness projects is the GOCO Retreat Kaiserhof, a wellness development in Rugen that includes a 50-bedroom wellness retreat and 54 wellness condominiums. Covering 3,544 square metres of space, this extensive wellness centre is the quintessential location to engage in wellness activities with a wide range of facilities including 42 treatment rooms, a medispa, gym, mind and body studio, healthy restaurant, tea lounge, library and meeting and learning spaces.
Respectively, these are the countries that follow Germany: India, France, South Korea, Canada, and Japan.
