Is Now A Good Time to Buy A Vacation Home?
August 15, 2008. Stay a week at a Lake Tahoe luxury vacation rental , and you might very well begin to wonder how you can buy one of these beautiful houses or condominiums. For most people, the price tag will very quickly snap them back into reality.
But could the recent trough in the real estate cycle spell opportunity for would be second-homeowners?
According to a recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle, some of these properties are hitting the auction block for half their orginal asking price. Residential sales were down 40 percent for the second half of this year compared to the same period last year, according to the article, a trend that has repeated itself in vacation destinations across the nation.
Of course, we're talking big numbers here. Properties that were going for $1.5 million are now hitting the auction block at $695,000. But that's Tahoe, one of the priciest markets in the country.
Savvy investors know that the downturn is the right time to buy. Ironically, many rush in while the market is sizzling. Their hope, no doubt, is to flip a property within months, but this strategy leaves too many buyers stuck after the peak. Now is the time to buy, and wait for the inevitable upturn in yet another cycle.
