NAR reported earlier this month an increase in the purchases of vacation properties. Even as sales of primary residences fell last year, vacation-home sales rose 4.7%, to a record 1.07 million (from 1.02 million in 2005). Furthermore, vacation homes’ share of the market rose to 14% last year from 12% in 2005.

Is this surprising? Not really. It’s simply a a product of demographical trends.

Afterall, 40% of baby boomers have indicated they plan to retire somewhere between Tallahasse FL and Virginia Beach within the next 10-20years.

Couple this with Money Magazine’s praise of Wilmington, and you’ve got increased interest.

We feel it daily. Nine times out of ten, when our phone rings, it’s the same old story (not that we don’t welcome it):

I live in the northeast and am nearing retirement… about 2-4 years out. Wilmington looks charming and coastal and warm (not to mention the golf and low taxes), so I want to buy a home now and using it as a vacation home until I retire.

And since the northeast is struggling to unload like us, most of the people shopping right now are in a position to buy vacation & second homes (which makes it even more challenging for sellers). While Forbes may disagree, now is a great time to buy. There’s a ton of homes available, interest rates are low and buyers have power. We haven’t had this much inventory in years… so eat your heart out!

If you’re considering the purchase of a vacation/retirement home, please give us a call and tell your. Our goal is to help you accomplish your real estate objectives.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 16th, 2007 at 10:07 am and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.