The National Association of REALTORS (NAR) 2014 Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey is out and reports that vacation home sales jumped 29.7% in 2013 from 2012. In 2013 there were 717,000 sales compared to 553,000 in 2012. It also is reported these sales are still about one-third below the peak activity seen in 2006. 13% of all transactions last year were vacation home sales. That is the highest market share since 2006.
Also noted was that 38% of vacation home buyers paid cash. That didn’t surprise me. Last year cash was used more often than any time in my career with purchase prices ranging from $220,000 to $850,000.
Other interesting, and not surprising, facts were that 46% of vacation homes were within 100 miles of the buyer’s primary residence and 87% said their primary reason for buying was they wanted a family retreat. More than 8 out of 10 felt it was a good time to buy.
