Here are the 10 best places to invest in a US vacation home
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Seaside's real estate has the highest price per square foot in 2021 of all 30A communities, breaking records across the board. Before editing Consumer Reports Travel Letter, Perkins spent 25 years in travel research and consulting with assignments ranging from national tourism development strategies to the design of computer-based tourism models. A nationally recognized reporter, writer, and consumer advocate, Ed Perkins focuses on how travelers can find the best deals and avoid scams.
The red-hot real estate market of the past year may be starting to cool ever so slightly, but consumer demand for vacation rental real estate is still burning bright. If you’re in the market for a vacation rental property or second home, read on as we outline the Top 25 Best Places to Buy a Vacation Home. From coast to coast, we rank our top 25 markets based on cap rate, or rate of return on your investment, and provide helpful data points including median home sale price and annual gross rental revenue. Frequently included in our Best Places to Buy a Winter Vacation Home report, Ludlow draws guests in search of the great outdoors—and boy, do they get a healthy dose. The Okemo Mountain Resort is a true winter wonderland, with world-class amenities and different terrain for all levels of skiers and snowboarders. Another spot that attracts guests year-round is Buttermilk Falls, a series of three waterfalls and various swimming holes where summer revelers can take a dip.
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, is a popular Southeast vacation rental destination along the Atlantic Coast.
That’s the lead finding of a new report from Vacasa, the major vacation home rental site. The report names the top 25 locations for buying a vacation home based on capitalization, or “cap rates,” which is a ratio of home cost and the income a property can produce by being rented out. It’s nothing new that travelers who book vacation homes are also often seeking outdoor adventure. This year’s list is full of destinations that are great for exploring the outdoors—nearly every one provides opportunities for hiking and biking, skiing and snowboarding, or kayaking and parasailing. Since our options for indoor entertainment are limited in 2020, it’s no wonder that families and friends are capitalizing on outdoor pursuits.
And while one of the benefits of a vacation home is having your own kitchen to prepare meals, a Corpus Christi getaway wouldn't be complete without enjoying some of the town's famous seafood restaurants. After a good workout in the great outdoors, guests often head to the area’s local hot springs, where they can unwind in nature. Dauphin Island sits parallel to Gulf Shores, facing the Gulf of Mexico, and is known for picture-perfect views. It features pristine beaches and unique architecture (think colorful homes on stilts!).
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Keep reading to learn more about the benefits and drawbacks of vacation home investments. This charming small town is well known for its pristine beauty and unique Native American and Scandinavian history. You may even recognize the name Bemidji as the location of the Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox statues. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey using five-year estimates from 2020,2 the most recent year available. With that in mind, these are the best small towns to buy a vacation home in the U.S. right now. Jillian Dara is a freelance journalist with a focus on travel, spirits, wine, food, and culture.
So, if you're in the market for a beach vacation home, keep reading for eight of the most attractive oceanfront destinations for real estate investment. Property management company Vacasa recently released their 2019 report on the top places to buy a vacation home. To determine its rankings, Vacasa looked at home sales data in vacation destinations across the US and overlaid it with actual performance data for thousands of vacation rental properties. This coastal beach town on the Gulf of Mexico is a vibrant and inviting place to discover southern Texas. There, attractions like Dolphin Bay—a 400,000-gallon saltwater exhibit starring two Atlantic bottlenose dolphins—are popular for kids and adults alike.
Kissimmee, Florida
Daytona Beach is also just an hour north of Orlando, making it a great place to stay if you also want to pay a visit to Walt Disney World or Universal Orlando. Navarre Beach is a long oceanside area in Florida separated from the rest of the city of Navarre by the Santa Rosa Sound. This beautiful beach area is sought out by tourists for its crystal-clear waters. Plenty of visitors can be found swimming, paddle boarding and fishing year-round. What makes somewhere one of the “best” places to buy a vacation home?
Owning an oceanfront vacation home means waking up to the soothing sound of waves and taking beach walks every day. Investing in a second home, especially one located by the beach, has always tempted people, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become one of the hottest real estate trends. Residing right next to Maplewood State Park, there are eight lakes to choose from, including the popular Otter Tail Lake and Pebble Lake.
The data used to create this article was sourced from multiple sites and sources. Vacasa’s 2022 Best Places to Buy a Beach House Report was used to find the average rental revenue of some locations. Median home prices were determined using May 2022 data from the Rocket HomesSM Housing Market Report. Average daily rate, average occupancy rate and other revenue data was collected from AirDNA, which offers short-term rental data analytics based on rentals booked through Airbnb and Vrbo. Finally, population and other considerations like cost of living were found using data from Bestplaces.net.
If you have a vacation home here in U.P., you could visit in the fall, when the changing colors of the leaves is truly magical. If Newport's notoriety and crowds are not your cup of tea, consider making Watch Hill your second home. This quaint coastal community surrounded by water on three sides became popular in the 19th century, especially with wealthy travelers who built their sprawling Victorian-style vacation cottages here. Settled in Sawtooth National Forest and east of the Big Wood River, there are many opportunities for nature lovers. Big Sky is home to the exclusive, celebrity-studded The Yellowstone Club as well as several ski and golf communities that have put the real estate market here in a league of its own.
Good buying opportunities span the country, from Killington, Vermont, to Waikoloa Village and Kihei, Hawaii, to Big Sky, Montana, to Scottsdale, Arizona. The location with the lowest buy-in price, is Whittier, North Carolina, at $178,000 and a relatively high cap rate of 7.9 percent. Other areas with low buy-in prices include Killington at $208,929 and a second-best cap rate of 9.3 percent, along with Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, at $213,950 and 6.2 percent. But you can also do well with properties in some cities, like Fort Bragg, California and Scottsdale, Arizona. Get a peek at our top 10 below—and check out the full report with market insights, including average annual rental income, for all 25. This is why Mashvisor brings you industry-leading data, analytics, and insight directly from Airbnb based on the actual performance of all Airbnb listings in your area of interest.
Seaside, Oregon, located an hour and a half northwest of Portland, has plenty of cottages and condos on the beach, in town, or along an estuary. Below, see the top places in the US to buy a vacation home, ranked in order of increasing average investment property returns. As a result of this demand, we’re seeing more first-time real estate investors and second home owners renting out their properties for the first time. But don’t worry, there’s a critical need for supply in many areas throughout the country.
Key West, Florida, is a small island featuring Cuban-style homes and no shortage of attractions, from historical sites to good restaurants and outdoor activities. Kihei, Hawaii, is the most populous town in South Maui and offers plenty of water activities. Turns out, the mountains and the beach are battling it out for top spots. Vacation home buyers are loving both the Great Smoky Mountains and Florida beaches — but they're also buying everywhere from Oregon and Hawaii to Vermont. When arriving in town, you instantly feel as if you were transported to a simpler—but more subtly glamorous—time.
For every property within the US that you’d like analysis on, we will provide you with the insight you need to make your investment decision. If the location is the yin of real estate, the neighborhood is the yang. While the location is essential in real estate investing, the neighborhood is equally important.
In 2021, the Cape Hatteras lighthouse drew more than three million visitors, so a vacation home here also offers excellent rental opportunities. The work-from-home culture and desire to be closer to nature are driving demand — and the value — for beachfront properties to historic highs in some areas of the country. Most brokers will agree that closing on a home calls for acting fast and, if possible, offering above-asking price. We looked at cost of living, vacancy rates by region and state capital flows by volume and income equity in these cities to gather our estimates of the best places to buy a vacation home.
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