Whether for family retreats today or for converting into their primary residence in the future, more and more homebuyers are purchasing vacation homes, according to an annual survey released this week by the National Association of Realtors.
NAR’s 2015 Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey shows vacation home sales boomed in 2014 to above their most recent peak level in 2006, and catapulted to an estimated 1.13 million last year, the highest amount since NAR began the survey in 2003. Vacation sales were up 57.4% from 717,000 in 2013.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says vacation sales in 2014 showed astonishing growth, nearly doubling the combined total of the previous two years. “Affluent households have greatly benefited from strong growth in the stock market in recent years, and the steady rise in home prices has likely given them reassurance that real estate remains an attractive long-term investment,” he said. “Furthermore, last year’s impressive increase also reflects long-term growth in the numbers of baby boomers moving closer to retirement and buying second homes to convert into their primary home in a few years.”
