Goa has emerged as India’s leading destination for serviced residences, fuelled by consistently high tourist influx and steadily shifting demand from short stays to longer duration vacation. This is creating strong growth potential for investors across the country to invest in an emerging real estate segment with higher ROI and rental yields.

Vinod Behl

Tourism boom, driven by remote work, wellness retreats and extended vacation is shaping the rental market of Goa- the most booked destination in India by overseas tourists., with 20% YoY increase in Airbnb bookings in 2024. The average Airbnb occupancy rate in Goa is 47%.

Today, Goa is a top choice for second homes with 35% of total second home buyers in India, favouring it. For NRI investors, Goa is a preferred place for investment as they prefer hassle-free buying of homes that can generate steady rental income and also serve as a comfortable place to stay when they return. This is fuelling demand for serviced residences which are popular for investment purposes, with branded operators offering rental and management services. 

There is a perceptible shift from plotted developments to apartments, in turn boosting the serviced apartment market. Rising land costs have made plotted options (villas and row houses) expensive. Moreover, Goa’s developable land is scarce and this scarcity is pushing housing demand vertically into more compact apartments as opposed to large land-intensive villas. Investors and end-users now prefer secure and managed apartments over standalone villas, driven by rental demand and Airbnb style models. 

The growing popularity of serviced apartments is leading to capital price growth and higher rental yield. With serviced apartment prices topping INR 10000 per sq ft, with more than two and a half times growth, driven by major infrastructure developments like the MOPA airport, proposed bypass and highways. Following other proposed and planned physical infrastructure, expansion of phase 3 of MOPA international airport and real estate developments, residential serviced apartment prices are expected to grow 3X in the next seven years. Goa’s high potential micro-markets like Bicholim, can provide annual rental yield ranging between 8-15%, indicating high income potential for buyers and investors of serviced apartments in Goa.