Baby boomers, flush with stock gains, drive record vacation home sales


Sales of vacation homes are surging, especially in the South. Above, a scene in Clearwater Beach, Fla. (AP / Jim Damaske)


By E. SCOTT RECKARD contact the reporter

Vacation home sales rise off the charts as investor purchases of housing decline, Realtor trade group says
National Assn. of Realtors: vacation home sales surge, led by purchases in affordable Southern locales
Downturn in purchases of California vacation homes contrasts with booming national trend

Bolstered by stock-market gains, affluent Americans bought more than 1.1 million vacation homes last year, according to an annual trade group survey – up 57% from 2013 and the most since the survey began in 2003.

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The strong sales of second homes contrasted with a weaker year for purchases of principal residences, and also a decline in sales to investors.

Vacation home sales represented a record-high 21% of all home purchases in 2014, the National Assn. of Realtors said Wednesday.


California witnessed a contrasting trend, with the percentage of vacation home sales falling to just 5% in 2014 from 6% in 2013, according to a tally by the California Assn. of Realtors, which said sky-high housing prices impeded the sales.


Lotus Lou, a spokeswoman for the state group, said the methodologies of the surveys were similar.


The national lobbying group’s survey of about 2,000 homebuyers calculated that 2014 purchases by investors fell about 7% to just over 1 million, and purchases by owner-occupants declined 13% to 3.2 million.

Aging baby boomers boosted the sales, buying homes they plan to retire to, often with help from investments in stocks whose value has jumped in recent years, said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the real-estate association.


“The steady rise in home prices has likely given them reassurance that real estate remains an attractive long-term investment,” Yun said.


U.S. home prices rise modestly, weigh on affordability

The Realtor group said the typical vacation-home buyer in 2014 had a median household income of $94,380, up from $85,600 in 2013.

The median vacation home price fell 11.1% to $150,000. Yun attributed the trend in part to higher sales of condos and townhomes versus single-family homes.


Buyers also increased their purchases of distressed properties, and of homes in the relatively affordable South, while vacation home sales fell throughout the more expensive West and Northeast, the survey showed.

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