Last week, the Mortgage Daily wrote an article on the National Association of Realtors study on the home market in 2007 and, where second home sales fell along with the overall market, second home sales accounted for 33% of all new and existing home sales. This percentage was down slightly for the 2006 figure of 36%. The Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey was extensive and showed a total decline in primary home sales, Vacation homes and Investment home markets but the primary home sales declined 10% (from 4.82 million in 2006 to 4.34 million in 2007) where vacation home sales dropped just 2% and investment home sales dropped just 1% over the same year. Vacation home sales declined to 740,000, a 30.6% drop, but that was down from the 2006 record-setting year where 1.65 million sales occurred. Vacation homes made up 14% of the total market of homes purchased in 2006 and 12% in 2007. The typical vacation home buyer was 46 years old and had a median household income of $99,100. They purchased property that was a median of 287 miles from their primary residence. 65% of vacation home buyers bought existing homes while the remaining 35% bought new homes. Tight supplies led to a pent-up demand from buyers which made 2006 a record year. Investment properties declined at the smaller rate of 18.1%; there were 1.65 million transactions on 2006 and 1.35 million in 2007. That dropped from the total market transactions in this category from 22% in 2006 to 21% in 2007. The typical investment home buyer was 42 and earned $92,900 in household income. They typically bought homes at a median of 27 miles from their primary residences. 71% of investment home buyers bought existing homes and the remaining 29% bought new homes. Lawrence Yun, NAR's cheif economist, said that the overall sales decline in 2007 was a combination of factors. During periods of uncertainty, times of tightening credit and mortgage industry disruption, there is a natural pull back on big-ticket items. He also said that strong demographics and lifestyle choices remain positive for the vacation home market as a peak of population is moving through the prime years for buying recreational property. | 
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