- Welcome to the unofficial start of summer! Our REALTOR® members work long hours and are in need of a break! Sixty percent of members work 40 or more hours a week and 17 percent work 60 or more hours a week. Among appraisers in the industry, 38 percent work more than 60 hours a week.
- Among REALTOR® members, 13 percent own a vacation home.
- Among recent buyers in the market, 11 percent of home buyers bought a vacation home in the last year.
- Perhaps this weekend both recent buyers and our members will get a well needed break.
- And of course a special thank you on this Memorial Day weekend to all of the members who served in the military. Two percent of the association membership were members of the military before becoming REALTORS®.
- For more information, check out the 2013 Member Profile and the 2013 Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey.
- As we look forward to Memorial Day Weekend and the official start to summer here are a few vacation home owner statistics from a recent report.
- The median vacation home purchase price was higher in 2012 than in 2011–$150,000.
- The share of vacation buyers who did not use a mortgage rose slightly to 46 percent from 42 percent in 2011.
- Since there were fewer distressed properties on the market in 2012, there were fewer that could be purchased. The share of vacation buyers who purchased a vacation property dropped to 35 percent from 39 percent in 2011.
- However, the share does remain high—20 percent of vacation buyers purchased a home in foreclosure, while 15 percent purchased a short sale.
- Vacation buyers expect to own their vacation home for 10 years.
Click chart to view larger version.
- The sales price for investment properties rose for the second consecutive year. The share of investment buyers who paid all cash for their home purchase remained steady from 2011 at 49 percent.
- Investors in 2012 remained active in buying distressed properties that were on the market. Twenty-four percent of investment property buyers purchased a home in foreclosure, and 23 percent purchased a short sale property.
- Similar to vacation property buyers, this is a slight decline, which is reflective of fewer distressed homes on the market available for purchase.
- The typical investment buyer plans to own their investment home for eight years.
Click chart to view larger version.
Many colleges and universities are already reporting record high applications and enrollments at their campuses. Unless a school is purposely trying to downsize (going for quality rather than quantity) the simple statistics of an ever-increasing number of people high school age (15-to-19 years old) assures a steady, rising stream of potential college students in the near future. The conversion rate from high school to college enrollment is no doubt rising, not because of better scholastic achievements but because of social pressure to attend college and from easier access to student loans and grants.
Housing Starts in Colorado Resort Destinations
Vacation homes are generally purchased by higher income households. In the past year, 44 percent of all vacation home buyers earned six-figure incomes. The purchases also had higher down payments, higher credit scores, and more collateral backing compared to other mortgages. Despite better underwriting and essentially low subprime lending for vacation homes, vacation and resort destinations have suffered disproportionally more than the overall housing market. Simply put, the collateral damage of the credit crunch from the subprime mess whacked the market that did not encounter subprime lending.
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