A new study released by the personal finance technology company SmartAsset uncovered the “hottest secondary home markets” nationwide. The study shows that Kahului, Wailuku and Lahaina metro areas ranked No. 4 for secondary home buyers.
The study looked at home purchase data from 402 metro areas and compared the number of homes purchased as primary residences and then compared it to the number of homes purchased as secondary residences.
The study states that almost 36% of all 1,620 homes bought in those Maui metro areas in 2016 were purchased by secondary homebuyers.
“The housing market in this area is on the expensive side. Secondary homebuyers took out an average home loan of $561,150 and primary homebuyers took out an average mortgage of $468,596,” the article states. The study also adds the median home value in the US increased to $205K in 2016.
Key findings in the report showed that metro areas with access to beaches dominated the top 10 list. In total, seven of the 10 hottest secondary-home markets are near a beach. Another key finding was the difference in incomes. “While it’s not surprising that people buying secondary homes have higher incomes than those buying primary dwellings, the size of the difference is substantial,” the article states.
The study revealed the average homebuyer purchasing a secondary home has an income of $197,400, while those buying a primary residence have an average income of $74,100. That means the average household purchasing a secondary home has an income equal to 2.6 times the average income of a household purchasing a primary residence.
According to the DBEDT’s 2016 edition of the “State of Hawaiʻi Data Book,” there were 2,576 home sales in Maui County in 2016; 1,428 were local buyers; 42% or 1,077 were mainland buyers; and 71 were foreign buyers. The average home price for locals in 2016 in Maui County was $537,552; $879,948 for mainland buyers; and $1,084,852 for foreign buyers.
No. 1 on SmartAssets list was Ocean City, New Jersey where almost 72% of all homes were purchased as non-primary dwellings.
Details on the study, including full methodology and rankings, can be found here.
