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Luxury home swap: A new way to travel for property investors

This summer, property investors can travel differently by swapping their luxury second home for another glamorous property in another country.

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Australians who own a second home worth between $1 million and $50 million can now join an exclusive club that offers access to 18,000 luxury homes, boats and private islands in more than 100 countries worldwide.

ThirdHome, a luxury home-swapping platform, aims to connect property investors to exchange their second home during a holiday.

The company, founded in the US in 2010, was inspired by the 2006 film The Holiday, in which Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz traded places for the Christmas holidays.

ThirdHome founder Wade Shealy said the platform also aims to respond to a reoccurring problem he saw in the industry regarding buying, using and selling holiday homes.

Currently, ThirdHome offers more than 18,000 luxury properties across 100 countries, including Australia. Members get to travel the world, enjoying unique holidays without paying rental rates and by simply using time in their own second homes to do so.

By listing their investment properties on the website, members earn credits that they can use when and where they want to travel to another listed second home.

The club’s offering spans from castles, ranches, stunning residences, chalets, mansions and private islands to pieds-à-terre, yachts, safari camps, wineries, estates, boutique hotels and over-the-top villas.

ThirdHome Australian managing director Laura-Jade Johnson said the company appeals to property investors who want to maximise the use of their second homes and holiday properties.

“We’ve seen a huge appetite in Australians wanting to join the club,” Johnson said.

“They want the freedom to explore the world without being tied to just one location year after year while capitalising on the value of their investment.”

Johnson said that since June this year, the platform has experienced more than 50 per cent increase in new members in the Australian and New Zealand market, while average weekly enquiries have more than doubled and continue to climb.

She said Australian summer is appealing for travellers, and the platform continues to seek more properties Down Under.

“With Australia’s summer in full swing during the holiday season, it’s the perfect destination for travellers who want to stay local or who want to trade snowy slopes for sunny shores.”

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For those dreaming of sunshine and sand this holiday season, ThirdHome offers properties primarily across the east coast of Australia, with a mix of coastal, country and city, including Sydney, Southern Highlands, Blue Mountains, Northern Beaches, Bondi Beach, Byron Bay, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Noosa, Whitsundays, Melbourne, Mornington Peninsula, Point Leo and Daylesford.

Some of the most prestigious properties in Australia can be found in Surf Poet, Sunshine Coast, Belongil Sands Byron Bay, Mount French Lodge and Mount William Station.

Johnson said while there are other home exchange sites available, ThirdHome’s indirect exchange model allows members to stay anywhere without having to swap their own home with a particular member.

Additionally, she said the Club vetting process ensures properties are in a desirable location, are well-maintained and well-appointed, and have unique selling points, as well as trustworthy home owners.

“With trust being the main ethos of the Club, it is highly imperative that members in the community care for each other’s home with the same respect they want their own property cared for,” Johnson concluded.

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