Vacation Home Decline
Vacation Home Purchases Plunge 65.8% Since 2021 Amid Economic Pressures
Anonymous
Key Points
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The articles frame vacation/second-home buying as a “leading indicator of broader economic conditions,” saying that because the purchases are discretionary, demand shifts can reflect changes in “consumer confidence, housing affordability, and the financial flexibility of higher-income households,” which in turn can affect “the wider real estate market” and “local economies that depend on seasonal residents.”
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The analysis is tied to SellMyTimeshareNow’s role as a business: it is described as “a global marketplace where people around the world connect to rent, buy, and sell timeshares,” and the articles say it conducted the study to identify where vacation-home declines are happening and “how the timeshare market is responding.”
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The articles provide an explicit market definition and segmentation context: vacation homes (second homes/seasonal properties) are “residential properties purchased primarily for leisure use rather than as a primary residence,” and they are “often associated with affluent buyers and resort destinations.”
Washington state vacation-home purchases have plunged 67.7% since 2021, making it one of the steepest declines in the country, according to a new analysis by SellMyTimeshareNow. Nationwide, second-home mortgage originations collapsed from 257,549 in 2021 to just 88,158 in 2025 — a 65.8% drop — as higher mortgage rates and soaring home prices pushed discretionary buyers to the sidelines.
The 30-year fixed mortgage rate now sits at 6.52%, more than double the roughly 3% rate that fueled the 2021 buying frenzy, according to Freddie Mac. Second homes — properties bought for leisure rather than as a primary residence — have taken the hardest hit because buyers can simply choose not to purchase them.
Pandemic Boom Gave Way to Sharp Reversal
The 2021 peak was no accident. Record-low mortgage rates and remote-work flexibility sent affluent buyers flooding into Washington resort areas like the San Juan Islands and Lake Chelan. Second-home mortgages briefly made up 4.9% of all U.S. mortgage originations, according to SellMyTimeshareNow. That share has since fallen to just 2.6%.
The reversal was swift. Redfin data shows second-home mortgages fell 42% in 2022 and another 40% in 2023 as the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates. The return-to-office push also reduced the appeal of distant vacation properties. Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather called the era a "Great Housing Reset," saying "buyers are prioritizing primary residences over a ski chalet or beach house."
Washington Listings Surge While Buyers Stay Away
In Washington, the affordability problem is now acute. Active listings jumped 29.3% year-over-year to 15,049 in March 2026, according to NWMLS. Sales, however, have remained flat. Steven Bourassa of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research described the dynamic plainly: "Washington continues to add listings at a rate that is far outpacing any growth in sales... potential purchasers cannot afford to buy."
Geopolitical turbulence has made things worse. Oil price spikes tied to conflict involving Iran in early 2026 pushed mortgage rates back above 6.5% just as the market showed signs of stabilizing. High state fuel costs — including gas taxes and carbon-related charges adding up to $1.29 per gallon — also raise the ongoing cost of owning a seasonal property far from home, according to Washington Policy Center.
Florida and Nevada Lead the National Damage Count
Washington is not alone. Florida recorded the largest total drop in vacation-home purchases with a mortgage between 2021 and 2025, according to NBC Right Now. Nevada posted the steepest percentage decline of any state, followed by Hawaii. Georgia fell 67.8% — just barely ahead of Washington's 67.7% drop, making both states among the 12 hardest-hit in the country.
Consumer confidence has tracked the decline. A University of Michigan survey found that upper-income households — the core second-home buying demographic — now believe it is a "bad time to purchase" a home. That sentiment shift has real economic weight. A 5.8% drop in national home sales is estimated to cost $22.4 billion in GDP and $4 billion in lost tax revenue annually, according to IMPLAN analysis cited by SellMyTimeshareNow.
Buyers Shift Toward Timeshares and Short-Term Rentals
With full ownership out of reach for many, buyers are pivoting to lower-cost alternatives. SellMyTimeshareNow — a global marketplace for buying, selling, and renting timeshares — conducted this study partly to track how timeshare demand is responding to the ownership slump. The company says timeshares and short-term rentals offer vacation access without the burden of a second mortgage or ongoing maintenance costs.
Local resort economies are already feeling the slowdown. Fewer property transactions mean less renovation spending, lower retail activity, and shrinking local property tax revenues. NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun predicts a 14% rebound in total home sales later in 2026 as job growth continues, according to Times-Georgian. But for Washington's vacation-home market, a meaningful recovery will require both lower rates and a rebuild of buyer confidence.
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