Second Homes

According to a study of 2005 home purchases, 40% of sales of existing homes last year were to buyers of second homes — 28% of homes were bought for investment purposes and 12% were bought as vacation homes. Wow, that’s amazing. There are of course demographic factors driving this trend, as well as favorable tax treatment for real estate investment (e.g., tax deductibility of mortgage interest). Still — it’s a staggering statistic — 4 out of 10 homes are sold to people who don’t intend to live in the home full-time.

I guess that’s what drive Zindexes in places like Vail to 2x the US.