Is NOW the Time to Buy a Vacation Property in Destin FL?

Does a vacation property in Destin FL sound ideal to you? Are you ready for the beaches and sunshine? If you have been through a long, cold winter and are yearning for warm weather and beautiful sunsets, the prices are down 11.2% from 2009. The median price in 2010 was $150,000, so if you can afford vacation property in Destin FL now might be the time to buy.

While many home sales last year were investment properties, vacation homes did count for 10% of sales. The latest restrictions that have gone into affect within the lending industry have not helped the sales. The tighter credit regulations have resulted in many purchasing vacation property in Destin FL using cash. Almost 40% of vacation home sales last year were cash purchases.

If a mortgage was used to buy the vacation property in Destin FL, the down payment was much more than for a principal residence. The average was 30% for vacation homes while investors were paying 32% down and principal residence down payments were about 20%.

Many people purchasing vacation property in Destin FL as well as across the country bought foreclosed properties. About 10% of vacation homes purchased were foreclosures while investment properties were approximately 17% foreclosures and primary homes accounted for 10%. In 2010, 543,000 vacation homes were sold and this was a drop from 553,000 in 2009. The investment purchases fell from 940,000 to 867,000 in 2010.

The drop in prices is making the purchase of vacation property in Destin FL easier for those who are looking for a second home. Although the median price of vacations homes is lower, the national median for principal residences had only fallen 4.5% in 2010 according to information from the National Association of Realtors.