According
to
the
National
Association
of
Realtors,
more
than
one
million
people
bought
vacation
homes
in
2006.
Industry
experts
say
the
NAR
data
is
good
news
for
those
considering
purchasing
a
vacation
home.
"Their
data
basically
reported
that
vacation-home
sales
rose
in
2006
based
on a
4.7
percent
increase
over
the
previous
year,"
says
Christine
Karpinski,
author
of,
How
to
Rent
Vacation
Properties
by
Owner,
2nd
Edition:
The
Complete
Guide
to
Buy,
Manage,
Furnish,
Rent,
Maintain
and
Advertise
Your
Vacation
Rental
Investment
(Kinney
Pollack
Press,
2007).
Despite
those
results,
is
now
really
a
good
time
to
buy
a
vacation
property?
Vacation
home
sales
and
investment
home
sales
together
accounted
for
36
percent
of
all
existing
and
new
residential
transactions.
Karpinski
says,
the
survey
results
signal
a
"definite
green
light
to
anyone
thinking
of
buying
a
vacation
property."
Karpinski
says
it's
important
for
consumers
to
understand
that
there
are
different
segments
of
the
real
estate
market.
"The
general
public
tends
to
view
the
real
estate
market
as a
whole,"
says
Karpinski.
But
she
says
that
not
all
real
estate
markets
perform
the
same.
The
residential
market
is
different
from
the
investment,
commercial
or
vacation
properties.
"They
really
are
two
separate
and
distinct
markets.
So
don't
let
the
doom-and-gloom
sayers
discourage
you,
and
don't
let
a
sluggish
real
estate
market
in
your
area
do
so,
either.
You're
on a
whole
different
playing
field,"
adds
Karpinski.
There's
more
good
news
for
vacation-home
shoppers
according
to
Karpinski.
She
says
that
investment
home
sales
are
down
by
nearly
30
percent
since
2005.
Fewer
speculators
in a
market
means
less
muddying
of
the
water
and
perhaps
less
driving
up
of
sales
prices.
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"If
you're
buying
a
second
home
for
your
personal
use,
you
don't
want
to
compete
with
speculators.
You
want
to
take
your
time
and
make
a
thoughtful
purchase
you
can
feel
good
about,"
says
Karpinski.
If
now
is a
good
time
to
jump
into
the
vacation
home
sales
market,
do
you
have
to
be
wealthy
to
buy?
Karpinski
says
not
at
all.
"Even
if
you
can't
comfortably
afford
two
mortgages,
it's
not
difficult
at
all
to
offset
the
cost
of
your
vacation
home,"
says
Karpinski.
She
adds
that
you
can
rent
it
out
part-time
and
enjoy
it
at
other
times
and,
"As
I
point
out
in
my
books,
if
you
rent
out
your
home
only
seventeen
weeks
out
of
the
year,
you
can
still
break
even."
An
important
consideration
before
buying
your
vacation
home
is
to
make
sure
that
you
have
the
ability
to
rent
it
out,
even
if
you
think
you
aren't
likely
to
do
this
at
the
time
you're
buying
the
property.
"Having
that
safety
net
to
be
able
to
rent
out
your
home
is
very
important
even
if
you're
sort
of
dead
set
against
anybody
renting
your
home
now.
The
reason
is
that
there
are
a
lot
of
homeowners
associations
and
municipalities
that
don't
allow
short-term
rentals,"
says
Karpinski.
So
buying
in
an
area
that
doesn't
allow
short-term
renting
will
not
provide
you
with
a
safety
net
and
Karpinski
says
it
could
hurt
your
resale
value.
"Vacation
homes
that
can
be
rented
typically
hold
their
value
better
because
you've
got
that
money
to
help
off-set
[the
cost]
and
your
pool
of
buyers
then
opens
up,"
explains
Karpinski.
As
with
any
real
estate
purchase,
the
best
assurance
for
a
good
investment
is
acquiring
an
education
about
the
area
you're
buying
in,
researching
restrictions,
and
hiring
qualified
industry
experts
to
guide
you
through
the
process.
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