According to the current National Association of Realtors® NAR 2013 Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey, which covers existing- and new-home transactions in 2012, there was a 10.1 % increase of vacation home sales. Vacation-home sales accounted for 11 percent of all transactions (investor, vacation and owner-occupied).
“Seventy-eight percent of all second-home buyers said it was a good time to buy, compared with 68 percent of primary residence buyers. “This suggests that second-home buyers tend to be a step ahead of general buyers in sensing a market recovery,” Yun says. Buyers plan to own their recreational property for a median of 10 years.
Lifestyle factors remain the primary motivation for vacation-home buyers. Buyers listed many reasons for purchasing a vacation home: 80 percent want to use the property for vacations or as a family retreat; 27 percent plan to use it as a primary residence in the future; 23 percent plan to rent to others; and 23 percent wanted to diversify their investments or saw a good investment opportunity.
“We had a strong stock market recovery, which helps more people in the prime ages for buying vacation homes,” says NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. . “With rising prices and limited inventory, investors are likely to step back in coming years.”
The portion of investment sales was 24 percent in 2012, the second highest share since 2005. Thirty-five percent of investment buyers purchased more than one property. Investors generally are renovating and improving properties before placing them back on the market to resell at a profit.
Fifty-five percent of investment buyers said they purchased for rental income, 30 percent wanted to diversify their investments or saw a good investment opportunity, and 20 percent wanted to use the home for vacations or as a family retreat. Forty-seven percent of investment buyers said they were likely to purchase another investment property within two years, as did 37 percent of vacation-home buyers.
The South was the most sought after purchase area with forty-five percent of the vacation homes purchased last year in the South and thirty-six percent of investment properties purchased last year in the South. The Marco Island/Naples market is reaping the benefits of both the buyers’ preference for properties in the south and lifestyle properties as our market is unbeatable for both of those criteria.
Please call the Sandlin Team direct today at 239.642.4450 or e-mail info(at)Marcorealtysource(dotted)com for more details.
Alan & Linda Sandlin
Broker Associate, ABR, CLHMS, CRS, e-PRO, GRI, RSPS
RE/MAX International Circle of Legends
