Value House Shopping in Hamptons, Sanibel, Cape Cod and Other Locations

When is a million-dollar vacation home considered a bargain? When it was first listed at $2-million, of course.

To analyze the plummeting price of fancy second, third or fourth-home real estate, Business Week's Prashant Gopal and Zillow.com got together and gathered intel sampling some prime property areas and how well they were holding up.

Among those faring the best in the sampling included Laguna Beach, CA, Newport, R.I., Chesapeake Beach, MD, Lake George, NY, Destin, FL, and Oahu Hawaii

On the other hand, in the Hamptons, New York's platinum coast, BW quotes two brokerages as saying "home prices have dropped 23.5% to $675,000 in the first quarter, compared with a year earlier." And what can you get for that price? The 2006-completed house shown here, with 3 BR and 3 1/2 baths, on half an acre in East Hampton.

Here are a few other places to hunt -

Arizona
Hard-hit vacation market: Scottsdale
Annual home value change: -27%
Q4 home price: $437,423

Connecticut
Hard-hit vacation market: Mystic
Annual home value change: -17.2%
Q4 home price: $256,000

California
Hard-hit vacation market: Napa
Annual home value change: -21%
Q4 home price: $405,000

Florida
Hard-hit vacation market: Marco Island
Annual home value change: -27%
Q4 home price: $437,423

Florida
Hard-hit vacation market: Sanibel
Annual home value change: -18.1%
Q4 home price: $516,892

Florida
Hard-hit vacation market: Bonita Springs
Annual home value change: -19.8%
Q4 home price: $251,757

Massachusetts
Hard-hit vacation market: Cotuit (on Cape Cod):
Annual home value change: -14.2%
Q4 home price: $375,740

New Jersey
Hard-hit vacation market: Point Pleasant Beach
Annual home value change: -15.6%
Q4 home price: $513,659

Oregon
Hard-hit vacation market: Sunriver
Annual home value change: -15.7%
Q4 home price: $256,000

Overseas Buyers: Beware Overheated US Markets

Overseas, Mexican and Canadian vacation home investors shopping for bargain houses are not buying in all the so-called "bargain" communities of the US, according to a New York Times article. "Prospective buyers are still wary of America’s volatile economy and concerned that housing prices could continue to decline. The result is that despite their interest to get a great deal, foreigners have been slow to purchase in all but the most recession-proof properties in the most expensive areas, like East Hampton (above left, courtesy EastHamptonhomesearch.com) and Beverly Hills," the Timesquoted "Agents for properties adjacent to America’s most desired beach and ski communities." The article said while Hamptons may be hot, Cape Cod is not. Also cautious: buyers in California and Nevada's Lake Tahoe vacation home enclaves.

The Next Summer Sizzle

So you thought there were no more beach resorts suitable for smart investors or second-home hunters? Think again. EscapeHomes, the popoular Web site, spotlights a bunch of them, including Door County, WI, Holden Beach, NC, and Long Beach Island, NJ. Each has properties for sale at prices that wouldn't buy a closet in the Hamptons or Miami Beach.