Quote:
Originally Posted by dreamingat30fps
Well I have noticed that the like 200-300k range is the most popular and I feel like you get the least for your money. Most of the houses are smaller and/or very outdated. Typically an acre or less and if they have good acreage (5+ acres) they go almost immediately. If you go up to like 500-600k I feel you get significantly nicer homes with more land and they are on the market a bit longer. However we don't really want to spend that much.
Maybe, but these people with money seem to be buying up a lot of crap. If investors are buying them I imagine they will need to get enough rent to justify the prices they are paying. Supposedly people are out of work etc yet house prices are going crazy, car prices are nuts, RV sales are through the roof... 
We have thought about buying land or buying some run down mobile home on a decent lot and build a cabin, but honestly that's more work and more unknowns than I really want to deal with.
Whole thing reminds me of that quote from Buffett that says something like be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful. |
Yes, if you double your budget the houses are significantly nicer and there is less people at this price range. A $600k vacation house in rural NC gets you a lot more.
With the "supposedly people are out of work", the group doing the worst was never in the market for a vacation home. The people that haven't lost their jobs and are historically a possibility to buy a vacation home are likely spending less of their disposable income (gas, car maintenance, car replacement as they wear out, clothes, restaurants, vacations). Interest rates are historically low so people realize that is they planned to buy in the next couple of years it is unlikely the finance part of their payment will ever be lower. If 30 year mortgages go back to 5% the prices will drop as the total monthly payment goes up.
I have never had any interest in owning a vacation home, just nowhere in the world I want to spend most of my free time, would prefer to rent and stay where ever I like, and feel like once I had this home most vacations would end up being there, whether I wanted them to be or not. My goal is to rent a home for 2-3 weeks multiple times per year, all over the world, and not deal with any of the hassles and expenses of owning a 2nd home. Different interests.