If your New Year's resolution for 2024 is to finally make that dream of a beach house a reality, there are a number of factors to consider.
Will you rent it out or live in it for part of the year while keeping it empty the rest of the time? Do you want to buy in an area currently seeing increasing traction or go for a tried-and-true holiday destination with the accompanying high prices?
Related: Here's What Happens When You Go Against Advice and Buy a Beach Home With Friends
In its annual secondary home and luxury market report, vacation home real estate platform Pacaso identified Florida's Volusia County as having the highest year-over-year sales price growth from 2022 and 2024 on homes valued over $1 million.
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Real estate sales are booming in these luxury markets
Situated on a stretch of Central Florida by the Atlantic coastline, the county is home to Daytona Beach as well as smaller beach towns like Ponce Inlet and Palm Coast that have been steadily attracting wealthy retirees and second home buyers. The average luxury second home in the county sold for $4,105,174. This is a 47% increase from a year before in 2022.
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Attracting generations of celebrities as well as political and financial elite for generations, Rhode Island's Newport topped the list of markets with the biggest increase in sales over the last year — a 64% increase and an average sales price of $2,003,945. Volusia County came second with a 19% increase.
Maine's York and Cumberland counties and Connecticut's Fairfield County rounded out the top five for the number of transactions while New Jersey's Atlantic County, Colorado's Jefferson County and Florida's Indian River County had the biggest sales price increases year-over-year — a respective 41%, 37% and 30%.
'This trend is extending into the real estate realm,' Pacaso CEO says
"The pandemic-fueled rush to Florida and the surge in second home transactions in previous years seemingly persist, as three Florida counties secure spots on Pacaso’s 2024 watchlist," reads the Pacaso report. "Volusia is most known for Daytona Beach and other picturesque beach towns like New Smyrna Beach and Ormond Beach. Notably, Volusia County has emerged with the highest average second home price in 2023 year-to-date, boasting an impressive average of $4,105,174."
As we move further down the list, underdogs start to appear. Washoe County in Nevada, Brunswick County in North Carolina and Plymouth County in Massachusetts have no shortage of nice homes and are increasingly catching the sights of those who may not want to live in a traditionally "old money" community like Newport or the parts of Florida whose recent surge in popularity have been sending prices skyrocketing.
In each of these counties, real estate sale prices still rose by 18% or more.
"Expedia (EXPE) -) recently highlighted the phenomenon of 'destination dupes'— budget-friendly alternatives to popular locations — that have left a lasting impact on the travel scene," Pacaso founder and chief executive Austin Allison said of the findings. “It seems this trend is extending into the real estate realm, with locales providing more affordable housing options while offering comparable amenities, access to outdoor activities, scenic beaches, and charming towns, akin to their more famous counterparts."
