Vacation Homes Increasingly Enticing for Buyers

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Vacation Homes Increasingly Enticing for Buyers

Daily Real Estate News | Thursday, May 02, 2013

The vacation housing market is looking bright these days in part because of favorable economic conditions, but second-home sellers attribute the increase to strategic marketing as well.

“We tell people this is an important investment and not just another toy,” says Peter Colvin, co-developer of Kingfisher Cove, a luxury lakefront cottage community near Saugatuck, Mich.

For Colvin, also a longtime investment advisor, you must first create reasonably priced vacation homes, and then convince potential buyers about the financial viability of the purchase.
“You've got to assure buyers that if they want to rent it out when they’re not using it, the home could truly pay for itself,” he says.

Vacation home sales were up 10.1 percent in 2012, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ 2013 Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey.

Colvin isn’t discounting broader housing-market gains over the past few years as a major factor in boosting second-home sales. With increasing employment figures, net worth stabilizing, and Americans having a little extra money in their pockets, investing in a second home is becoming an increasingly popular trend.
“It’s a whole different world right now,” he says. “As the pent-up demand shows itself and interest rates hold low, I think it’ll create even better conditions to buy a second home. We’re back to where things should be.”

— Melissa Kandel, REALTOR® Magazine