Redfin: Seasonal Towns Stagnating

(A building in Aspen, Colo., courtesy of Isaac Garcia/pexels.com.)

Redfin, Seattle, released a new report finding that the number of homes sold in seasonal towns fell 3% year-over-year, compared with a 1% decline in non-seasonal towns.

Seasonal towns have seen a downturn for a while–sales have been declining on a year-over-year basis since February.

Redfin defines a seasonal town as one where more than 30% of the housing stock is used only seasonally or occasionally. That generally equals about 9% of all home sales in the U.S. Examples include Aspen, Colo., and Bethany Beach, Del.

The firm noted that sales in seasonal towns are declining in part because they’re often second homes or investment properties. Redfin also recently reported that mortgages for second homes dropped to their lowest level in at least six years in 2024.

Inventory is growing in seasonal towns, with the total supply up 17% year-over-year compared with 14% in non-seasonal towns. However, while inventory is rising, fewer sellers are listing homes. New listings in seasonal towns are down 3% year-over-year, compared with a 2% increase in listings elsewhere.

And, Florida has struggled recently in general, due to factors like rising insurance costs. Just over 100 of the 288 seasonal towns in the analysis are in Florida.

Another usual avenue for home sales in seasonal towns is investors who want to purchase a home to rent it out to tourists. But, with uncertainty in the U.S. economy, short-term rentals may be down. Plus, in certain areas, increased regulations around services like Airbnb may make such options less popular.

Median prices in seasonal towns are flat, although still significantly above those in non-seasonal towns. The median price was $583,000, flat year-over-year. In a non-seasonal town, the median price was $451,000, up 2% year-over-year.

“Vacation markets are cooling faster than other places because second-home demand is sensitive to high housing costs,” said Daryl Fairweather, Redfin’s chief economist. “When mortgage rates are elevated and the cost of living is high, buyers are more likely to prioritize their primary residence over a ski chalet or beach house. Many Americans who might have bought a vacation home a few years ago are now holding off, partly because of high costs and economic uncertainty. And some people who already own second homes are listing them to cash out before prices soften more.”