Real Estate has been impacted by the pandemic in lots of ways from the growing need of home offices to the slowdown of new construction starts due to material shortages and climbing costs. There is one emerging trend from the last year and a half that may surprise you though… soaring second home sales!
Buyers have been flooding the real estate market in search of a second home. In fact, vacation home sales are posting strong double-digit growth, jumping 57% year-over-year nationwide compared to the 20% annual growth in total existing-home sales.
So why the sudden interest in second homes?
Remote work has offered more location flexibility and many employers have decided to extend remote options or create a hybrid work model. This has encouraged a lot of buyers who already desired a vacation home to make the leap.
Another key reason is the popularity of short-term rentals. These hotel alternatives have been popular for years, but there was a big booking uptick as a result of the pandemic. Buyers who want to have a vacation home feel more confident they can have a reliable income stream thanks to sites like AirBnB and VRBO to offset some second-home costs.
Vacasa, a vacation rental management platform, recently released its 2021 Top 25 Best Places to Buy a Vacation Home report, which is a list of top U.S. destinations for purchasing a vacation rental property. Several locations near Charlotte made the list…
Litchfield Beach, SC ranked #18. Banner Elk, NC came in at #20. Corolla, NC and Holden Beach, NC also made the list at #24 and #25 respectively.
While a mountain or beach home sounds fantastic (count us in for vacation!), our team is also seeing a lot of second-home purchases right here in Charlotte. Charlotte continues to grow thanks to job opportunities, weather, cost-of-living, and more. This creates a great environment for investment opportunities! We have helped multiple clients buy investment properties in 2021, from seasoned investors with robust portfolios, to clients who are purchasing their first investment property. With historically low interest rates and climbing rental rates (both in short-term rentals and more traditional longer leases), there is a healthy market of investors who see a second home as a great way to have an added income stream.
The pandemic may have jumpstarted the vacation home trend, but there are no signs of the second home market slowing down anytime soon. We think it will remain a popular choice among buyers for years to come!
