Houston Hosts First Second-Home Expo

The "Escapes! Second Home Expo" is set for Houston Apr. 19 and 20. Organizers say Texas is the "new hot spot for retirement, according to a recent study using U.S. Census data." Texas has now "leapt past Arizona and California to become the No. 2 retirement spot in the US. "Florida is still No. 1, but Texas is gaining." Spokesman Tony Wood suggests buyers from the greater Houston area, where the energy-driven economy is thriving, are in a better position than most to invest in a vacation home these days. The 200 exhibitors who will take part in the show at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center represent not just Texas destinations but Mexico, Costa Rica and Panama, all reachable by nonstop flights from Houston. More info: EscapesExpo.com

Shell,Tipi,Yurt: Yours to Rent

I'm bored with hotel rooms, condos and the like. Next time I head toward Litchfield, Connecticut I want to stay in the geodesic dome featured by HomeAway.com, a major vacation rental site, in its gathering of "Top Ten Most Unique Vacation Rentals." Number One on the list: A curvy shell house in Isla Mujeres, Mexico on the beach, complete with a pool, that HomeAway says would be where the Little Mermaid would vacation on land. At $1,500 to $2,000 a week, it looks ideal for a honeymoon. Others: a tipi near Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta, just over the Montana line...yurt in Santa Barbara, California...and two kinds of tree houses in Costa Rica and California.

Talk About Motivated Sellers!

"Motivated" is typically a code signalling that a seller is ready to haggle on the price of a home or condo.But I've never seen this before: "Motivated developer!" Given the current state of the economy, however, I'm not surprised. In this case it's the builder of the Soulea Luxury Pool Villas, an 18-unit project in the South Pacific Zone of Costa Rica. The current soft market is probably not optimum for pitching second home investors or vacation home buyers on $375-$400,000-range 2 and 3-BR villas in Central America, so I think it's a smart move by Soulea to offer "outrageous price revisions" on the 7 remaining units. Interested? e-mail Amanda Courter (amanda@soulea.com) and tell her I sent you.