Many areas in the U.S. experienced at least double-digit growth in second home/luxury home sales last year and experts are not seeing a slowdown.
“Americans are pouring money into their homes. Sometimes that means remodeling and sometimes it means purchasing a luxury beach house in Florida,” said Delray Valle, Redfin’s market manager in Palm Beach. “We’ve always seen luxury buyers come from New York and California, but this year, they’re also coming from Maryland, Las Vegas, Chicago, and other midwestern states. Florida is normally a second-home state, but now it’s shifting to a primary home state.
We’ve always seen luxury buyers come from New York and California, but this year, they’re also coming from Maryland, Las Vegas, Chicago, and other midwestern states.
With affluent Americans on the move, the market for vacation homes, many of which are luxury properties, has been on fire. The pandemic has pushed luxury home buyers out of their hometowns and into the vacation market where they can work from home and focus on relaxation.
Demand for second homes rose 100% from 2019 in October, surpassing the 50% increase in demand for primary homes. And many of the country’s hottest neighborhoods, such as Lake Tahoe and Lakes Region of New Hampshire, are popular resort destinations, but now home buyers have looked to purchase permanent homes in those areas and not just stay for a week or two. “With mortgage rates at all-time lows and offices shut down across the country, the dream of having a second home outside of the city is becoming a reality for many wealthy Americans,” said Redfin lead economist Taylor Marr.
