In view of the healthy economy, you may be thinking of buying a second home as a vacation getaway, as housing for family members or as an investment property.
That could reap great benefits, but you should only proceed with insight into this year’s secondary home market. A few predictions from real estate specialists:

• In general you can expect a buyer’s market, according to Bloomberg.
• Costs may be attractive in vacation areas, where prices grew only 14.8 percent in the past three years compared to 25.2 percent in non-vacation areas. Another report notes vacation markets have underperformed the overall market every year but one since 2010 (except in the Midwest, where they’re now slightly overperforming). Factors in the downward slope may include everything from climate change to demographics to Trump’s tax reforms.
• Because interest rates may rise this year, buyers may wish to act soon, anticipating slightly higher loan rates for secondary homes.
• Areas of optimal investment are expected to include the Florida cities of Orlando (No. 1), Panama City and West Palm Beach; Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, Hawaii; Chicago; and the California cities of Napa, Palm Springs, Westlake Village and Laguna Beach.

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