MSN Money picks the top 10 places to buy a second home

Looking for vacation property that’s a good investment as well? These communities offer weather, scenery and active real estate markets. Plus: 10 more up-and-comers.
By Liz Pulliam Weston

Popularity is a mixed bag when you’re looking for vacation property.
A hot destination means more crowds, more traffic, longer lines. But if you’re keeping an eye on investment potential — and more than one out of three second-home buyers say they are — then you want to buy where others want to be.
What you really want, though, is to buy today in an area that’s going to be hot tomorrow, so what are the ingredients that will turn a sleepy village into the next Aspen or Hilton Head?

A beautiful setting is a must, but here are some other important factors:
Proximity to growing urban centers. Vacation towns typically need to be within a two- to three-hour drive of a major city, or at least reasonably close to a big airport.
Plenty of recreational opportunities. There has to be lots of stuff to do beyond shopping, which is why most thriving resort towns are near ski lifts, beaches or mountains. Some cultural cachet — a theater or film festival, galleries or museums — is also nice.
Decent weather. You have to be able to get outside to enjoy all that recreation.
Significant commercial investment. The old-timers may grouse about the new hotels or malls, but these are good indicators that others think the community is on the way up.
The “it” factor. The community gets discovered by movers, shakers and celebrities — or at least enough other folks like you — for prices to get bid up.
Consider the following two lists of hot (and potentially hot) vacation home markets compiled by EscapeHomes.com, an online listing service for second homes, timeshares and other vacation property. Youll see some interesting similarities, as well as a few towns that break the rules.

The top 10 towns for second-home investments
EscapeHomes.com identified popular second-home destinations that appreciated at least 10% a year in value between 1998 and 2002 and which may have further to go.
The results are based on their own listings for real estate in these communities. Listings aren’t sales, though, and EscapeHomes.com doesn’t reflect the whole market. In fact, real estate professionals in some of these towns (Asheville, N.C., for example) say sales were never that hot, while those in others (Park City, Utah, and Sunriver, Ore.) say appreciation has slowed in recent years.
Where possible, Ive included price appreciation figures compiled by the federal Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, which oversees housing finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and which compiles housing sales data for larger metropolitan areas.
With all those caveats aside, here are the Top 10 second-home investment markets:

• Asheville, N.C. This mountain town boasts the Biltmore Estate and a thriving arts and crafts community. Home prices are up 35% in the past five years, compared with the national median growth of 27.8%.
  
• Park City, Utah. The Olympics-related frenzy has cooled, but Park City is still a preferred destination for skiers and other winter sports fanatics. Prices this year are up between 5% and 7%, according to real estate broker Mike Sloan, statistician for the areas Board of Realtors.
  
• Ashland, Ore. Lovely weather, lovelier scenery and cultural cachet combine in Ashland. Located about halfway between Portland and San Francisco, the town is also home to Southern Oregon University and the highly regarded Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Ashland’s home values have exploded in recent years. Home prices in the region that includes Ashland and nearby Medford have risen at least 40% since 1998, according to federal figures, while a local appraiser puts Ashland’s average home price growth closer to 70% in that period.
  
• Port Townsend, Wash. This picture-perfect Victorian seaport lay nearly untouched for most of its long history until being discovered by Seattle yuppies in the 1990s. It’s still quaint, but relatively mild weather and proximity to Olympic Peninsula attractions have increased its appeal for retirees and urban refugees.
  
• Beaufort, S.C. You know Beaufort, even if you’ve never been there. You’ve seen it in movies like The Big Chill and Forrest Gump, and you’ve read about it in the pages of The Prince of Tides and The Great Santini by one-time Beaufort resident Pat Conroy. Fishing, shrimping and a National Historic Landmark District are features of The Queen of the Carolina Sea Islands.
  
• South Lake Tahoe, Calif. Though it shared Americas largest alpine lake with the more glamorous Lake Tahoe, Nev., this community was long the dowdy little sister. No more. Two new Marriott’s have replaced a strip of decaying old motels along the main drag, and there’s talk of a convention center. Median home prices are up 21% from last year, said Madeleine Gutierrez, vice president of the South Lake Tahoe Association of Realtors.
  
• Daytona Beach, Fla. Nineteenth-century industrial barons popularized Daytona, which is probably best known for the international raceway built in 1959 and the Daytona 500 auto race. Eight million visitors pour through annually. Home prices are up 44% in the past five years and nearly 9% in the last year alone.
  Sunriver, Ore. This central Oregon resort area is near Bend and the Mt. Bachelor ski resort, about four hours from Portland and two hours east of Eugene. Whitewater rafting, hiking and skiing are favorite pastimes. Prices on some properties are about double what they were eight years ago, realtors say, but appreciation has slowed down in recent years along with the economy.
  
• Myrtle Beach, S.C. The beaches along The Grand Strand — and the areas 120 golf courses — draw 14 million visitors annually. Despite the crush, Myrtle Beach consistently winds up in various listings of the nation’s best beaches and best retirement towns, with home prices rising at an 8% annual clip.
  
• Charlevoix, Mich. This little town lies between the shores of Lake Michigan and Lake Charlevoix in northern Michigan. The population of the town and surrounding area is 8,500 full-time residents — which climbs to 30,000 in the summer. Golf courses and water fun are the main attractions.
  
  10 emerging second-home markets
  Here’s another intriguing list EscapeHomes.com has concocted: vacation-home areas that are just beginning to get popular with its users. There’s no guarantee any of these will become the next Myrtle Beach. In fact, given the more remote and generally northern location of many of these sites, you can pretty much count that out. But there could be some second-home price appreciation ahead.
  
• Burnside, Ky. Community boasts a Catfish Festival and bills itself as The Only Town On Lake Cumberland! Its near Lexington, Frankfort, Louisville, Nashville and Knoxville and not far from the Big South Fork National Recreation Area.
  
• Caribou, Maine. Snowmobilers and cross country skiers venture down from Quebec and New Brunswick to enjoy the scenery in this northeast Maine town.
  
• Ely, Minn. The Gateway to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is a second home mecca for residents of Duluth and Minneapolis-St. Paul.
  
• Island Park, Idaho. This area near Yellowstone and the Grand Teton national park’s, is becoming an alternative to Bozeman, Mont. and Jackson, Wyo.
  
• Ketchikan, Alaska. This is a paradise for hunters, hikers and anglers, but you have to want to get there. Its more than 37 hours by road and ferry from Seattle, the nearest big city. Closer is Juneau, the state’s capital, but you still can’t get from here to there by road.
  
• Lake Martin, Ala. Bass fishing is big in this town nestled in the southernmost foothills of the Appalachian mountains. Nearby: Birmingham, Montgomery and Atlanta.
  
• St. George, Utah. Speaking of gateways, this little town is near much of Southern Utah’s most spectacular country, including Zion Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Cedar Breaks National Monument and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Closest cities: Las Vegas and Salt Lake City.
  
• Sisters, Ore. Another Central Oregon contender, Sisters is northwest of Bend. It’s a former lumber town turned fishing and tourist mecca on the edge the Deschutes National Forest. Closest cities are Portland and Eugene.
  
• Waterville Valley, N.H. Tucked inside the White Mountain National Forest, Waterville Valley offers all the outdoor experiences you could want, and then some. Concord and Manchester, N.H. are nearby. Boston is about 2 hours south on Interstate 93.
  
• White Mountains, Ariz. A cooler alternative to Phoenix, about four hours away, the White Mountains region offers snow sports in winter, golf and hiking in the summer and picturesque Indian villages all year round.

New Listing

Batelle to spend $100M here, create 200 jobs

Tuesday, January 13, 2009 4:27 PM
Updated: Tuesday, January 13, 2009 04:50 PM
By Kevin Mayhood

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Battelle will invest more than $100 million and add about 200 jobs in Columbus, Dublin and West Jefferson, the nonprofit said today.

The research institute will announce the plans Wednesday to renovate, expand and build new office, laboratory and manufacturing facilities, spokeswoman Katy Delaney said.
Despite the downturn in the economy, Battelle's business has grown, particularly its work for national defense and homeland security.

Local leaders said they are pleased to hear of the plans and many will attend a Battelle press conference tomorrow morning.
More details will be provided then, Delaney said.
kmayhood@dispatch.com

First-Time Buyer Tax Credit: A Reason to Buy Now

First-Time Buyer Tax Credit: A Reason to Buy Now The homeownership tax credit that the federal government created earlier this year is a hard-won tool at your disposal to encourage your customers to jump off the fence and get into the home buying market.

When you combine the tax credit with today’s continuing low interest rates, large selection of for-sale inventory, and low home prices, many of the pieces are in place for your customers to buy now.

How the Tax Credit Works

The First-time Home Buyer Tax Credit was passed this year as part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (H.R. 3221) on July 30 and targets any individual or household that hasn’t owned a home for at least three years. Taxpayers can take the credit on their 2008 tax return if they bought their house this year after April 9.

It’s worth up to $7,500 and can be taken in a single tax year. Authorization for the credit ends July 1, 2009, so if your customers wait to buy in the first half of 2009 they can take the credit on their 2009 tax return.

The actual credit amount is set as a percentage of the home purchase amount. That percentage amount is 10 percent, so your customers can get 10 percent of the home price credited against their tax liability, up to a maximum $7,500.

Income limits are $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 for households. Individuals whose income exceeds the $75,000 limit but isn’t more than $95,000 can still take the credit but on a reduced basis. The same thing applies to households earning up to $170,000.

Any house is eligible as long as it’s a primary residence and is in the United States.

Buyers Have 15 Years to Pay Back

To help keep the program cost effective for taxpayers, the federal government requires the tax credit to be paid back in small, 6.67-percent increments over 15 years. For that reason, some analysts have likened the credit to a 15-year, interest-free loan to help make home buying affordable.

There’s one restriction on the type of financing that your customers can use if they plan to take the credit. That restriction is on tax-exempt mortgage financing. That only applies if your clients are using below-market interest-rate financing from a public agency or nonprofit that’s funding the loan using proceeds from a tax-exempt mortgage-revenue bond issue. For most buyers, this won’t be an issue. It’s mainly an issue for low-income buyers using special mortgage financing.

Price It Right Or Pay The Price! (Pricing - Part 1)

Written by Carl Medford, Real Estate Professional in Fremont
November 28, 2008 11:34 AM

With doomsayers declaring that the housing market is freefalling and the media prophesying catastrophe, many sellers have abandoned any thoughts of selling. They’ve figuratively gone back to bed and pulled the covers over their heads.

The pundits are wrong.

Bottom line: local home sales are not dead.

Heed some basic advice and you stand a very good chance of selling your home even in this current market. As has been mentioned in countless other blogs, home preparation is critical for selling quickly and for top dollar. Additionally, professional home staging has proven to increase your chances of a sale.

However, there is only one basic point that will ultimately determine whether or not you sell your home. The Pareto principle states that 80% of effects come from 20% of the causes. In the case of your home this is certainly true: 80% of selling your home comes from one factor alone:

Price.

No matter how much time, effort and finances you invest in your home (the 20%), if it’s not priced correctly (the 80%) it won’t sell. In this enlightened Internet age, savvy buyers are attuned to a home’s true market value like never before. As Realtors put increasing amounts of information and pictures on the web, buyers are visiting “virtual open houses” and making effective buying decisions without viewing a home in person.

Buyers may love a specific home, but if they perceive that the price is too high, they typically assume the seller is over-optimistic and will not come down to a reasonable price.

As a result, they will usually not even darken your door.

It’s the harsh reality of the current market. If priced too high, your home becomes “invisible” to buyers. And it does so from the very start. Buyers will go on to look at other homes instead of yours.

So how do you price your home to sell?

1. Have your Realtor prepare a REALISTIC CMA. (Comparative Market Analysis) Look at EVERYTHING on the market in your area, not just "the chosen few" that you want to see.

2. Run the trends from your area. Usually your local MLS will provide your Realtor with extensive data.

3. Price AHEAD of the market. In a decreasing market, it must be priced BELOW the previous comparable sale or active listing.

Need to sell your home, but won’t get enough to pay off the loans? Then be honest with yourself and get a short sale specialist to help. Although aggressively setting the price is the highest obstacle sellers encounter when selling their home, in the end it is the one action that will reap the highest possible dividend:

A SALE!

Will 2009 bring a U.S. economic recovery?

Yes, possibly starting around midyear,
assuming no more unpleasant surprises are lurking.
The first half, though, will be tough,
with the economy contracting 4% in the first quarter,
following a 5% decline in the last quarter of 2008.
Still, here are four reasons for optimism:
Low interest rates. The prime is at 3.25%
and will stay there for a while. That makes it cheaper
for qualified borrowers to buy or refinance a home,
or to take out a loan for a car or college tuition.
And the Federal Reserve’s plan to buy up more debt
starting in Feb. will help keep interest rates down.
Low prices. Cheap oil won’t last forever,
but it will last several months, as will modest prices
for food and other commodities, goods and services.
Inflation will be in the 1%-2% range for 2009,
stretching paychecks for those who still have jobs.
Federal spending. President-elect Obama
and Congress plan a stimulus of over $800 billion
in tax cuts and spending as early as this month.
If the money can be put to work quickly...a big if...it will create a few million jobs.
A new sense of public confidence in Washington. About 70% of Americans
say they are optimistic that the Obama administration will be able to spur growth.
Economists say confidence is a key element, especially as it relates to consumers.
That’s a big plus if Obama can deliver quickly enough to keep the momentum going.
But there are plenty of worrisome factors weighing down the economy:
Housing. A million homes are in foreclosure now and a million more will be
by year-end. Unsold houses are piling up, depressing prices. By the close of 2009,
25% of mortgages will be underwater, meaning the loan exceeds the house’s value.
Tight credit. Qualifying for a loan is very hard right now
as banks worry about the job security of borrowers.
As a result, banks are hoarding far too much cash.
Declining exports. The global recession cuts demand
for U.S. goods. Exports will shrink by 0.5% in 2009.
Auto industry blues. Uncertainty about Detroit’s future
is a big cloud darkening the entire U.S. economy.
Gas and oil production. As prices plummet, companies
have less incentive to invest. That’ll mean shortages
when the global economy improves and demand rises.
Deficits. Few are worrying about the federal debt now,
but eventually it’ll jack up interest rates. (More on p. 2.)
1729 H St. NW, Washington, DC 20006-3938 • kiplingerbiz.com • Vol. 86, No. 1
The Kiplinger Letter (ISSN 1528-7130) is published weekly for $117/one year, $199/two years, $263/three years

Though we think the recovery will start in the second half of the year...
We’ll be watching four signposts for clues over the next several months.
Over time, they’ve proved good indicators that a recession is beginning to end:
Stocks. The markets are a leading indicator. Over the past 70 years,
they’ve started rising four months, on average, before GDP turned positive.
Jobless claims. First-time unemployment applications will be a better clue
on timing than job losses, which tend to lag. Claims are running at over 550,000
per week now. When they come down to 400,000 or so, that’ll be very encouraging.
Bond rates. The gap between interest rates on low-grade corporate bonds
and Treasuries has soared to around 17 percentage points. Normally, it is closer
to five points. Until it narrows, businesses with less than stellar credit records
will be virtually shut out of the bond market and have to struggle to get cash.
Housing starts. Once the declines level off, look for home prices to stabilize.
That’ll be the beginning of the end of housing’s negative contribution to GDP growth.
Metal prices will fall further before stabilizing and gaining slightly in 2010.
Meager demand by manufacturers and builders will prevent any significant recovery
from November’s losses of 50% or more when economic unease spread worldwide.
Look for aluminum to decline by more than 10%, from 90¢ to 80¢ a pound,
by the end of 2009. Copper will shed over 15%, slumping from $2.10 to $1.75.
Tin will fall about 5%, to $5.50 from $5.85. No improvement, either, for nickel,
which will drop about 15% in 2009, going from $5.05 to $4.30. It fell 60% in the fall.
Slow global growth will take a big toll on the 240,000 U.S. small exporters.
Their foreign orders are drying up more quickly than those of bigger firms,
and they have less clout than multinationals in fending off resurgent protectionism.
Firms dealing in high-tech and telecom goods are among the most vulnerable.
Smalls are also being particularly hard hit by the sharp drop-off in trade financing,
needed for insurance against nonpayment by foreign customers or political risk.
Smalls with IRS problems will get a break...or at least a quicker resolution.
A pilot program offering a fast-track settlement procedure will be extended two years.
It’s now operating in Chicago, Houston, St. Paul, Minn., Philadelphia, central N.J.
and three areas in Calif. Firms with assets under $10 million are eligible.
You won’t know there’s a recession under way if you watch the Super Bowl.
Advertisers will spend even more this year than last. But a big change
in the mix this year: The Detroit Three will hide, hard-pressed to spend $3 million
for a 30-second ad. Last year, GM was tops among all automakers. No letup
by brewers, though. Budweiser will again get more airtime than any other product.
One consolation in this economy: Some medical costs will be cheaper.
Orthodontic work is on sale, with many dentists offering big discounts
to make up for a 20% decline in business. Other discretionary medical services,
and anything not covered by insurance, are also widely on sale to attract customers.
Cosmetic surgery is 10% to 25% cheaper. Sales, too, on LASIK eye surgery.
Along with lower prices, providers are offering easy credit and low interest.
Many also offer package deals: A Botox shot along with a nose job, for example.

Columbus, OH: #1 in America's Most Affordable Places to Retire


Our river city tops Forbes list of the most affordable places to retire. Our reasonably priced homes, lower inflation rates and low unemployment rates for those over 65 who wish to continue working, all contribute to the ranking.
As well, Columbus has the most doctors per capita and the highest number of citizens (per thousand people) tapping their Medicare benefits. Both issues are extremely important as the population’s life expectancy continues to increase. With people living longer, the need increases to stretch those dollars as much as possible.
The Columbus Board of Realtors launched “The Grass is Greener Here” campaign during the Spring. This was done to quell the negative rumors from the media, who tend to pain national trends as opposed to what’s happening in our local markets. As we know, “all real estate is local.”
On the heels of this latest news, see what others are saying about Columbus:
•..One of the top 200 Best Places for Business and Careers..."-Forbes
•...A top 50 hottest city for expansion and relocation..."-Expansion Management Magazine
•...The second best city in the nation for African American families..."-BET.com
•..Franklin County is one of the top large counties for recruiting and attracting new business..." -Expansion Management
•..15th-largest city in the United States"
•..One of the fastest-growing major metropolitan areas in the Midwest."
•...No. 1 among the Top 10 Up-and-Coming Tech Cities..."-Forbes, March 2008
•..Seventh-strongest economy in the nation..."- POLICOM, August 2006
•...Eighth-best big city on Money Magazine's 2006 Best Places to Live list..."-Money Magazine, 2006
•..A top hottest city for expansion and relocation..."- Expansion Management Magazine, 2006
•...No. 9 among the Most Affordable Places to Live Well..."- Forbes, November 2007
•...Population in the Columbus Region as grown by 455,000 people (36%) during the last 26 years - to 1.7 million in 2006. Since 1980, Columbus has grown 12 percent faster than the national average and nearly six times faster than the state of Ohio..."
•...one of the largest college populations in the nation, with 110,000 college students enrolled in 20 higher education institutions. Ohio State University was ranked the largest university in the United States in 2006..."
•...Fourth-safest city for businesses in the United States..."- Risk & Insurance Magazine
•...The state of Ohio ranked number one in the nation for the number of attractive micropolitans for capital investment..."