NAR: Second-Home Market 1/3 of All Home Sales

The National Association of Realtors reported today that not only did the second home market surge last year, it is much bigger than previously thought. Second homes actually account for more than one-third of all residential real estate transactions, a new study shows.

That's huge. Even the NAR's chief economist, David Lereah, said the numbers are "startling."

You can find key data in this press release from the organization. I gave my blog readers a sneak peek of the findings last week.

Lereah said today that among the biggest news is that 23 percent of the residential market is now investment property, while 13 percent is vacation homes. Thus real estate is now unmistakably "a viable investment alternative" to traditional investments, meaning primarily stocks and bonds. He said: "35% of buyers" surveyed said they "wanted to diversify their investments."

The study included condos, although the lion's share was single family houses. It did not include timeshares.