Every year vacationers daydream about owning a waterfront condo, a ski chalet or a lakefront cabin. In 2013, more people took the plunge and purchased a vacation home. According to the National Association of Realtor’s 2014 Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey, which covers both existing and new home transactions, vacation home sales increased 29.7 percent to 717,000 homes in 2013 compared to 553,000 in 2012. Vacation homes sales accounted for 13 percent of all home sales in 2013.

NAR’s chief economist Lawrence Yun says vacation home sales increased in 2013 because of the strong equity market, which has been advantageous to buyers in higher income brackets. The typical vacation home buyer in 2013 was 43 years old with a median household income of $85,600.

Attractively priced recreational properties also helped drive sales. The median vacation home price for the year was $168,700, up from $150,000 the previous year. Low mortgage rates affect vacation home buyers, too, since they can finance their property with a more affordable loan payment. However, 38 percent of vacation home buyers paid cash in 2013. Those that financed their purchase made a median down payment of 30 percent.

Questions to Ask When Buying a Vacation Home

Whether you are a sun worshipper or a snow bunny, there are multiple considerations for buying a vacation home that are a little bit different from buying your primary residence. It’s important to work with a sales associate with experience in the vacation home market where you want to live. An experienced sales associate can help you answer questions you might not think to ask, such as:

1. How will you pay for it? If you prefer to pay cash, that’s simple, but if you want to finance some of your vacation home purchase, a lender can work with you to find a home loan that meets your current needs and your financial goals.
2. How far are you willing to travel to your vacation home? If you plan to use it every weekend, you’re better off choosing a home within a reasonable driving distance.
3. How do you intend to use it? If you plan on enjoying holidays with friends and your extended family, make sure you buy a home with enough bedrooms and bathrooms to accommodate your crowd.
4. What do you enjoy doing on vacation? If your priority is golf, choose a home in a community with a course you love or plenty of nearby courses. If you want to enjoy entertainment and dining out, pick a place with easy access to nightlife and activities. On the other hand, if you want peace and quiet most of all, choose a home that’s more isolated. The important thing is to identify your priorities and buy a home that makes your preferred vacation activities as convenient as possible.
5. Do you plan to use the residence as your retirement home? If so, no matter how young you are, look at the possibilities for aging in place such as a one-level home or a house with a first-floor master suite. NAR’s research shows that 31 percent of vacation home buyers intend to use their property as a primary residence in the future.
6. What type of resale value will you have? While your priority may be having fun on vacation, this home should also be an investment. If you’re buying in a beach community, get as close as you can to the water because those are typically the most attractive to buyers. A professional real estate agent can help evaluate homes in the context of their investment potential.
7. How much maintenance will the home require? The last thing any vacationer wants to do is to spend the weekend painting window sills and mowing the lawn. You can buy a home in a resort community where routine maintenance is taken care of or consider the benefit of a property management company.
8. Do you want to rent your property to vacationers? Renting your property for a few weeks or longer can offset the cost of the property. NAR’s survey showed that 23 percent of vacation home buyers in 2013 planned to rent their property at least part of the year. An experienced sales associate can help you identify a property that will be appealing to other vacationers. If you choose to offer your vacation home to occasional tenants, you can hire a property management company to handle all aspects of the rental.

Your Vacation Home as an Investment: Marketing, Renting and Selling

While NAR’s survey showed that most vacation home buyers intend to keep their property for a median of six years, there are a variety of reasons to sell your vacation home. If your family has outgrown the home or prefers a different location to spend their leisure time, it may be time to consider selling. You may also want to sell if the financial burden of keeping a home that you rarely use becomes too heavy. Consult with a sales associate to estimate the value of your home and to decide whether you are better off keeping the property as an investment and renting it full time or selling now.

If you choose to rent the home, look for a full-service property management company that will market your home, screen potential tenants, and provide maintenance oversight and accounting to maximize your return on investment. High quality firms will also use innovative technology to simplify your access to information about your home and your ability to communicate seamlessly with your property management team. They will handle all aspects of the business, easing any concerns you have about your vacation property.

Should you decide to sell, keep in mind that selling a vacation home requires a different marketing approach than selling a residence in a non-resort community. While visitors to your vacation location offer one set of prospective buyers, sales associates also need to extend their reach to buyers in nearby regions and far-flung locations to find a buyer. You need to choose a sales associate with the skill to recognize the unique features of your home, the ability to maximize the appeal of those features and the network to reach as many prospective buyers as possible.

Whether you are looking for a vacation home to buy or have a resort home to sell or rent, consider the Long & Foster team. Sales associates specializing in vacation properties are available to help in your search for a new home or the sale of your current vacation property, even marketing your home on a global scale to prospective buyers through the Long & Foster network as well as affiliated networks such as Christie’s International Real Estate in select areas, Luxury Portfolio International and the Long & Foster Luxury Homes brand.

In addition to working with buyers and sellers, Long & Foster offers property management services to handle all aspects of renting and maintaining your vacation home, as well as mortgage lending, insurance and settlement services. All Long & Foster real estate agents also have an array of local, trusted resources such as moving companies and contractors they can recommend to make every move as smooth as possible. Choose your real estate partner wisely to make sure you receive the expert advice and full-service approach to meet your needs.