Vacation Home Demand is Way Up; Here’s How to Compete

If you’re on the hunt for a vacation home, apparently, you’re not alone. According to a new report from Redfin, demand for second homes and vacation properties is booming.

In fact, it has surged a whopping 87% since the pre-pandemic days and is nearing its highest point ever on record.

The uptick isn’t a huge surprise — especially with more rates on the rise. Mortgage rates have jumped more than 50 basis points since the end of the year. Experts largely predict they’ll keep rising, too, especially with the Federal Reserve signaling tighter monetary policy as the year goes on.

Are you hoping to snag historically low rates and a vacation home while you still can? Here’s how to deal with the rising competition and win out.

1. Have your mortgage ready to go.

A pre-approval is a downright necessity in this market. Even better? That’d be a fully underwritten approval like Embrace’s Approved to Move™ program. Being Approved to Move™ is essentially as good as cash, giving sellers more confidence in your offer and speeding up the closing process considerably.

2. Get ready to act fast.

Properties are flying off the shelves lately, so acting fast is critical if you want to snag that dream vacation home. 

To start, set up listing alerts for homes that meet your budget, preferences, and location parameters. Then, talk with your real estate agent about what you’ll do when a matching home gets listed. Will they head to the property and FaceTime you? Send you the virtual tour and photos via text? Have a plan for how you can act quickly and efficiently no matter where you’re located or what you’re doing.

3. Put a buffer in your budget.

Home prices in vacation towns are up 20% over last year and have notched double-digit growth for the last 18 months. To combat this trend, consider working a buffer into your home buying budget. 

Say, for example, you can afford to spend $500,000 on a vacation home. Instead of looking at homes around the $500,000 price point, look at $400,000 homes instead. That way, you can offer well beyond the listing price (ideally without waiving too many contingencies) and still snag a home.

Need help with financing your vacation home?

Are you on the hunt for a vacation home? Want to make sure you can beat out the competition? Get in touch with an Embrace Home Loans office in your area and learn how the Approved to Move™ program can help today.