With Gulf front and Golf course properties being my primary focus, the second home real estate market has also seen a slight decrease in transactions and an increase in properties for sale. It shows that no matter what social economic class people are in, everyone appears to be tightening the belt even if just a little. With hope and optimism I foresee that a shift in the second home market will occur soon.

Many owners of secondary homes are finding that their properties have also taken hit on their equity. Some people who own gulf front properties have listing prices that would compare to 2005 prices. With the other great ownership opportunities these properties may be taking a back seat to the “Equity Buys”. Those that would be interested in and potential buyers may not be comfortable to act at this point in time.

Although I may be more optimistic then those pulling out their check books, or in this case not pulling them out, I do believe that we will see a visible shift come at the end of summer. There has been significant momentum in the stock market over the past three months, the unemployment rate appears to be leveling out and consumer confidence has once again been gained. If you look at the recent earnings releases from some retailers, not only are they reporting better than expected earnings and profits, they are also reporting sales increases over the same period last year.

As many people would admit, we were in a recession long before the experts called it this. Although we all understand that we will not snap back out of it, we are looking forward to the continued progress we have seen.

Second home sales will regain momentum slightly quicker than other existing home sale statistics. With the population of these buyers having more disposable income and typically in a better financial situation, they will start to invest in this lifestyle faster. If for no other reason than their recovery from the current economic status will take less time, they are typically still gainfully employed and they are starting to invest in other aspects like the stock market.

How do you feel the second home real estate market will fair in the next year?