New York times talks about a lot of things, just like any other newspaper of magazine. There is a big difference though, when NYT says something, people actually listen. This month, they released an article about the profitability and the rapidly expanding vacation rental market. We have been saying the same thing for over a year now and predicting this trend. It feels good to have someone like NYT confirm our thoughts. Read their full article at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/15/greathomesanddestinations/15Your.htm l?8dpc.

Vacation rental market is over $80B in the US now and growing rapidly. People are actively thinking about renting a vacation home for their vacations compared to the boring same-old same-old hotel rooms with an an uptight atmosphere and impersonal experience. Vacation rentals often cost lesser and have more amenities like a kitchen, living room, more space, a backyard and locale-specific amenities. None of that is available in hotels. And of course, vacation rentals are personal. People treat hotels as the place to go sleep at night during their vacation. On the other hand, your vacation home can be the place where you actually spend time, play board games with your family, cook a quick meal or order in from a local restaurant and create memories. No wonder their popularity is growing. Good for vacationers. However, there is another takeaway from this trend. If you are looking to invest in real estate, getting a vacation rental may be a great idea today.

On the other hand, to add to the incentive, real estate prices for vacation rentals are going down. Costa Rica vacation rental prices are down 40% according to a news release in August. http://www.emediawire.com/releases/costa-rica/real-estate/prweb1225124 .htm 

Florida vacation rental prices are also down by about 5-25% depending on locale. This is a great time to get into the market. Buying a home may not be such a good idea because they might be hard to sell. With a vacation home you can’t go wrong because people are looking for them to rent temporarily. It’s like getting into a business at the right time. In business, it’s all about that, isn’t it. And to add icing to the cake, you can go stay at your vacation rental for a free vacation once in a while. However, a word of caution, I would treat it as a business if you want your venture to be profitable. People haven’t caught on to this trend in a big way just yet. When everyone does, these vacation rentals will start becoming expensive to buy and it will start getting harder and harder to get into the market. We’ve been in this market for a long time and we think now is the time. Good luck!

 - Kenny Doucette

Vacation Rentals in Florida