With family income on the rise, hill stations in India are increasingly becoming attractive real estate destinations for more and more Indians, according to a survey.

While some want an abode at hill stations as only a holiday home, some others want it as a second home they can drop in any time they please.

This appetite, though still niche, is catching up fast amongst Indian homebuyers.

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The survey, conducted on the website Makaan.com from June 1 to June 23 this year, saw participation from over 4,800 respondents nationally, with the majority of them belonging to the age group of 26-35 years of age.

According to the survey findings, Indian hill stations are emerging as probable residential options.

Gone are the days when owning a house in the hills was mostly looked from an investment point of view; today a large majority of home buyers are ready to move into the hills and are looking at these destinations for residing purpose in the near future.

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With 37 per cent, majority of survey takers expressed that for them the purpose of buying a house in the hills was clearly self use, be it for now or for future.

Another 29 per cent respondents want to look at such options as a holiday destination or weekend getaway.

Interestingly, only 21 per cent want to buy real estate in the hilly areas as probable investment options.

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The remaining 14 per cent is made up of those who want to beat the city life and plan to settle post-retirement in these areas.

Amongst all cities, maximum (37 per cent) Delhi-ites want to look at such options for taking a break from the city life.

For all other major cities, self use of the property seemed to be most important. Majority of respondents from the key cities, want to build a house for self consumption.

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Climatic conditions dicate the choice of home buyers in selecting a property in the hills. The climate of a hill station emerged as the most significant factor for attracting real estate buyers to that area.

Property options under Rs 20 lakh (Rs 2 million) are most in demand. Preference for bungalows wins hands down as compared to other property options like apartments and plots, the survey said.

While the majority of national respondents want to own a house in Lonavala, respondents from Delhi/NCR had Nainital & Mussorie on top of their lists.