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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Vacation homes become hot properties

Don Walker The Spokane Association of REALTORS®

The National Association of REALTORS® recently released results of its 2006 Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey, and it is most interesting.

The results show that while second-home sales were mixed in 2006, the level of vacation home sales rose.

The combined total vacation and investment-home sales accounted for 36 percent of all existing and new residential transactions — down from 40 percent of sales in 2005.

However, vacation home sales increased 4.7 percent to a record 1.07 million. Fourteen percent of second home purchases were vacation homes, up from a 12 percent share in 2005.

Most vacation-home buyers are married couples (78 percent). Single men purchased 11 percent of vacation homes. Caucasians accounted for 78 percent of all second homes purchased in 2006, both for vacation homes and investment properties.

African Americans purchased 8 percent of vacation homes, Asians accounted for 6 percent and Hispanics bought 9 percent of vacation properties.

One-quarter of vacation homes were purchased in the Northeast, 13 percent in the Midwest, 38 percent in the South and 25 percent in the West. Just under a fourth of vacation homes were purchased in resort locations. The median price of a vacation home in 2006 was $200,000, down 2 percent from $204,100 in 2005. Twenty-five percent of vacation home buyers paid cash for their property.

Households purchase vacation homes for a variety of reasons. The majority of vacation home purchasers — 79 percent — wanted to use the home for vacations or as a family retreat. But there were other reasons vacation home buyers purchased them. More than a third purchased a vacation home to diversify investments. Twenty-eight percent planned to use their vacation home as a primary residence in the future.

As is the case with home buyers in general, the majority of vacation home purchasers rely on the experience, knowledge and high level of service of real estate professionals.

Vacation buyers are in it for the long term. They plan to keep their property for an average of 10 years. A total of 55 percent of the buyers expect to purchase another property within two years.