Daily Real Estate News  |  November 11, 2006  |   Second Homes Here, There, Everywhere
REALTORSŪ active in second-home sales are practicing in every state in the country, according to the upcoming Resort and Second-Home Survey conducted for NAR.


Sixty-eight percent of homes sold in the last year by survey respondents were located near an ocean or lake; 11 percent had sold a condotel, a building where buyers receive hotel-like services coupled with ownership. Land (27 percent) and golf courses (38 percent) were also favorites with second-home buyers.

The survey, which will be available at REALTOR.org/resorts in December, also addressed issues of concern to second-home and resort specialists. Almost 50 percent of survey respondents were concerned about laws in their communities that prohibited short-term rentals. Another 17 percent were backing legislation that would begin the school year later, allowing more time for family vacations in August. Also of concern were possible initiatives to eliminate deductions for mortgage interest on loans for second homes.

Of those responding to the survey, the majority had been selling resort real estate for less than five years, and 25 percent relied on resort sales for 15 percent or fewer of their sales last year. Most respondents sold homes valued at between $125,000 and $500,000.

The preliminary results of the survey were presented to attendees at the Resort Real Estate Committee by Chair Ken Libby, RSPS, of Stowe, Vt. The meeting took place during the 2006 REALTORSŪ Conference & Expo in New Orleans.

— By Robert Freedman for REALTORŪ Magazine Online