Demand for second homes accelerated again as summer crept toward fall, remaining below its peak earlier in the pandemic but well above historic levels.
The demand for vacation properties and second homes in September was 60 percent higher than its pre-pandemic levels, according to an analysis from Redfin. The previous month, demand was 40 percent higher than it had been before the pandemic.
“The popularity of vacation homes skyrocketed at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, with many well-off Americans opting to leave city-life behind and work remotely,” Redfin’s report reads.
Second-home demand shot up almost immediately after the initial shock of the pandemic wore off. Interest in these second homes continued to rise in the months that followed, peaking at well over twice its usual levels in March earlier this year.
Since then, the numbers have come back down a bit, while remaining much higher than normal. Some of the second-home slowdown was likely seasonal, as the frantic spring homebuying season drew to a close, the brokerage said.
Another possible damper on demand at the time were caps imposed on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in January by their federal regulator, which limited the mortgage giants’ purchases of mortgages secured by second homes and investment properties. Fannie and Freddie implemented the caps in April, until the Biden administration suspended the limits in mid-September.
The Seattle-based brokerage based its findings on the number of people who locked in mortgage rates for properties that they labeled as second homes. Approximately 4 in 5 rate locks result in an actual home purchase, Redfin said.
