Florida the hottest spot for second homes; Naples tops March online real estate index
Friday, April 15, 2005
 A beach in Naples, Fla. |
Coastal towns remain popular as second-home markets, and Naples, Fla., was the top search choice of consumers who used a vacation, investment and retirement home-search Web site in March.
EscapeHomes.com, which offers real estate tools and listings for consumes seeking second homes, created the Second Home Market Index to provided information on trends and consumer interest while cluing consumers to some potential markets for real estate investment.
“We developed the Second Home Market Index to follow changes in where people are looking for second homes. We’ve seen some interesting shifts and changes, but ultimately areas like Naples, Fla., and Myrtle Beach, S.C., dominate the index. Oceanfront destinations continue to be the most desirable second-home locations,” said EscapeHomes.com President David Hehman. In this month's index, seven of the 10 top second-home markets searched by Web site users are coastal markets.
South Padre Island, Texas, ranked second in the March index, followed by Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Destin, Fla.; Orlando, Fla.; Tampa, Fla.; Florence, Ore; Napa, Calif.; Venice, Fla.; and Park City, Utah. The results are based on more than 200,000 property searches made on the EscapeHomes in March.
Myrtle Beach ranked first on the list in the February index. South Padre Island remained in the second position while Orlando moved up to the sixth position in the March index. New to this month’s index are Park City, Destin, Tampa, Florence, Napa, and Venice.
Some changes in the March Index were due to low inventory and a lack of affordable beachfront property in Myrtle Beach. Interest in Orlando is on the rise because of a strong year round rental market and its popularity with European buyers who are taking advantage of weak U.S. dollar, according to the EscapeHomes.com announcement.
Investors comprised 34 percent of the Naples home seekers, while 30 percent are looking for a retirement home, 24 percent are searching for a vacation property, and 12 percent are planning to relocate, the announcement also states.