Category Archives: Second home demographics

Guess Who’s Buying Up Vacation Homes Like There’s No Tomorrow? The Rich!

Written by Candy Evans on June 16, 2012

Those of us in real estate know that when the housing market plummets, vacation places plummet the most. Second homes are most often discretionary purchases you wait on until you feel flush with cash.

Posted in Beach Homes, Economy, emerging real estate markets, financing a second home, Florida homes, national news stories affecting second homes, neighborhoods, New York City, On the Market, Private Residence Club, Real estate market news, real estate taxes, Second home demographics, Second home trends, Second homes and taxes, Second Shelters, travel to second homes | Tagged California, Lake Tahoe, Las Vegas Telluride Col Lake Tahoe Naples Fla, National Association Of Realtors, Palm Springs, real estate | 1 Comment

Do You Have a Vacation Home You Want to Pimp, I Mean, Market? Social Media for Vacation Home Owners

Written by Candy Evans on July 15, 2011

Rent it, sell it, make it pay the bills for you? You may want to get up early with me tomorrow morning to participate in a way cool phone “webinar” with participation by experts in the vacation home marketplace. This is the second of two such webinars we are offering this summer. You missed the first one but don’t worry, I did too!

Posted in Second home demographics, Second home trends, Second homes and taxes, travel to second homes | Tagged Candy Evans, Facebook, Sanibel Accommodations, social mdia for vacation rental owners, Susan Cohen, Tollfree Number, Twitter | 1 Comment

Madre and Padre Viva With the Kids: How The Hispanic Housing Boom Will Affect Texas Real Estate & Mexicans Building U.S. Fortesses

Written by Candy Evans on June 21, 2011

Ocean condo kitchen at Costa Baja in La Paz, Mexico

Open doorways from second master bath suite to bedroom

Latino homes love open spaces: Costa Baja, La Paz, Mexico

Posted in CandysDirt.com, Dallas real estate news, emerging real estate markets, Mexico second homes, national news stories affecting second homes, Real Estate, Real estate market news, Second home demographics, Second Shelters | Tagged Costa Baja, Dallas real estate news, Hispanic Real estate buyers in the US, Hispanic Realtor, Open Doorways, Real Estate Editors, San Antonio Board Of Realtors, San Antonios, Texas real estate news | Comments Off

HGTV’s Vern Yip Loves Second Homes

Written by Candy Evans on May 23, 2011

I caught up with Vern Yip, star of HGTV’s way popular design shows, when he popped in to visit I.O. Metro up near the Dallas Galleria last week. Yip has a new partnership with the Little Rock, Arkansas-based store that offers a wide variety of stylish, sleek but hip, good-looking and comfortable home furnishings at most affordable prices and a “made in America” stamp/tag. Yips fans were busting down the door, first in the Allen store, then at the Galleria location. Many brought design dilemmas — and he was so gracious! Yip has formed a new alliance with I.O., will be seen in advertising campaigns and is offering “Vern’s Picks” throughout the stores — these all items Yip has selected as design must-haves.

Posted in Celebrity Homes, Designer's Corner, New York City, Second home demographics, Second Home furnishings, Second home trends, Second Shelters | Tagged Advertising Campaigns, Dallas Galleria, Design Dilemmas, I.O. Metro, Old Furniture, Stain Resistant Fabrics, Vern Yip | 2 Comments

A Cure for Depression: Cinnamon Shore, Texas Gulf Coast Real Estate

Written by Candy Evans on April 6, 2011

I feel like some House Porn Candy (I’m trying to go on a diet and stick with Candy instead of Porn) and when I saw this home at gorgeous Cinnamon Shore last weekend, I seriously said — I’m selling everything and moving in. Squatters rights, whatever. What is it about being at the beach that just calms, soothes, and makes you feel like nothing in the world at all matters but those gorgeous blue(ish) waves and sea froth? Cinnamon Shore is a gorgeous development about five miles of Port Aranas that captured my heart. If you’ve ever been to or seen Seaside, Florida, you will see that Cinnamon Shore is almost a clone. And there is nothing wrong with cloning something that works. Seaside was a planned beachfront community that is one of the biggest success stories in the U.S.

Posted in Beach Homes, On the Market, Real Estate, Real estate market news, Second home demographics, Second Shelters, Texas Gulf Coast | Tagged Cinnamon Shores, Mustang Island, Outdoor Porches, Port Aranas, Sea Froth, Susan Castor, Tongue And Groove | Comments Off

Dallas Real Estate Facts: Baby Boomers Boost Vacation Home Sales As Home Prices Fall

Written by Candy Evans on April 4, 2011

543,000 vacation homes were sold in 2010, ten less than in 2009.

867,000 investment homes were sold in 2010

940,000 investment homes were sold in 2009

Only 25 percent of vacation home buyers plan to rent them.

Posted in Real estate market news, Second Home deals, Second home demographics, Second Shelters | Tagged Baby Boomers, Median Household Income, Real Estate Investment, Real Estate Sales, Retirement Home, second shelters, Vacationhome | 3 Comments

Do You Owe More Than $1 Million on Your Home? If So, the IRS May be Calling You

Written by Candy Evans on March 28, 2011

Homeowners who owe more than $1 million on their homes are under intensified scrutiny by the IRS now. Why? Because of so much confusion over deducting the interest on those over $1 million mortgages. And you can do the math — if your mortgage is more than a million, you are likely deducting a boatload of mortgage interest so pay attention because this could mean good deduction news, something we need a whole lot more of right now. I’d say only your CPA knows for sure but that may not really be the case!

Posted in Second home demographics, Second home trends, Second homes and taxes, Second Shelters | Tagged Controversy Centers, Credit Card Debt, Michael Lewis, Moot Question, Mortgage Interest, real estate news Dallas, Refis, Second homes and the IRS, Tax Advisers, taxes and real estate | 2 Comments

The Most Popular Spot for Vacation Homes in New Braunfels, Texas: Gaga For Gruene

Written by Candy Evans on March 1, 2011

Greetings from Gruene! Second Shelters contributor Andrew Chalk was kind enough to head south to the Texas Hill Country and check out second/vacation home real estate in the beautiful New Braunfels area:

Posted in Second Home deals, Second home demographics, Second home trends, Second Shelters, Texas Hill Country | Tagged Andrew Chalk, Christian Louboutin, Comal Rivers, Grain Silo, Gruene, New Braunfels, Rolling Countryside, Southern Rim, Susan Phillips, Texas | 2 Comments

NewGeography Urbanist: At Home with Joel and Mandy Kotkin

Written by Candy Evans on February 28, 2011

Joel Kotkin, the provocative urbanist and Forbes contributor whose latest book is The Next Hundred Million: America in 2050, is so right on the ball. Contrary to the elitists’ proclamation that all of us should ditch our autos and be crammed into an “urban core,” Joel thinks suburbia is not all that bad and is, actually, rather a pretty good place for families to live and thrive. Sure there’s a place for urban cores, but they are increasingly becoming havens for the uber rich. San Francisco, for example, has the highest percentage of individuals living on unearned incomes! (I call these folks children of the Golden or Lucky Sperm Club. Of course, many of them may have made a killing in the market and are living off the interest.) The outlying, auto-dependent areas where land and affordable housing is available is where most people settle. Also out there: jobs for the real people who keep the cogs turning. That’s what stimulates “upward mobility” among the lower and middle classes, keeps our economy humming, and ultimately funnels more Lucky Sperm Club folks to San Francisco. Joel’s latest Forbes.com column focuses on the 2010 Census and what it showed — and he was right on the money, honey. Americans are continuing to “disperse, becoming more ethnically diverse as I pointed out in NG and leaning toward to what might be called “opportunity” regions of the nation.” That is, suburbs. In Texas!

Posted in Celebrity Homes, Dallas real estate news, Second home demographics, Second Shelters | Tagged 2010 US census, Citrus Trees, Forbes columnist, Forbes.com, Joel Kotkin, Mandy Kotkin, New Geography, suburbia is not so bad, Urbanist | Comments Off

Is the Florida Real Estate Market Scraping the Sandy Beach Bottom?

Written by Candy Evans on February 27, 2011

Mary Ann and Fred Davis bought a home in Naples, Florida for $200,000. 2400 square feet and 40% off what it sold for in 2005. The home is in a gated community and they plan to keep it as a second home/family retreat for years, hence no pie-in-the-sky buy and flip notions. I’ve got more friends snapping up properties in three out of four of the nation’s hardest hit markets: Florida, Phoenix, and Idaho. (Sorry, no one I know cares to buy in Las Vegas.) This home was a short sale purchase. And according to Zillow economist Stan Humphries, this may be a great time to pick up a second home as long as you keep it for many years…