The Quiet Boom in the Vacation Home Market

Gelb Marketing Research, “The Houston Market for Second-Home Property through 1973, with Emphasis on West Galveston Island.” (Unpublished study conducted for The Timewealth Corp., Houston, 1968.)

It is estimated that 100,000 to 150,000 vacation homes annually are constructed in the United States. Since total new housing units number between 1 and 1½ million, it appears that vacation homes account for somewhere between 10 and 15 percent of all new housing sales, and probably a higher proportion of land sales. In dollar volume of housing, vacation homes are probably less than 10 per cent because of their lower unit price.

Aluminum Company of America, “Vacation Home Interest Among Tenants of New York City Apartments.” (Unpublished survey conducted by the company, New York, 1965), p. 11.

American Telephone and Telegraph Company, “Survey of 9,231 Bell System Telephone Users.” (New York: American Telephone and Telegraph Company, 1965). (mimeo.)

John S. Y. Chir, “A Statistical Study of Second-Home Owners: An Analysis of the 1965 Residence Market Study Conducted by the American Telephone and Telegraph Company.” (Seattle: Dept. of Economics, University of Washington, September 4, 1966.)

U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Second Homes in the United States, Current Housing Reports, Series H-121, No. 16 (Washington: U.S.G.P.O., 1969.)

Lancing John B. , Residential Location and Urban Mobility: The Second Wave of Interviews, prepared for the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads. (Ann Arbor: Inst. for Social Research, University of Michigan, January 1966), p. 69.

U.S. Dept. of Interior, Bureau of Outdoor Recreation, Projections to the Years 1976 and 2000: Economic Growth, Population, Labor Force and Leisure, ORRRC Study 23. (Washington: U.S.G.P.O., 1962), p. 182.

Meridith Corp., “A Report on the Better Homes and Gardens Consumer Questionnaire” (March 1968), p. 67.

Carroll Robert L. , A Social Analysis of Southold Town, Long Island. (Ithaca: Dept. of Housing and Design, Cornell University, 1965.)

Ragatz Richard Lee , Vacation Homes: The Market for Seasonal-Recreational Housing. (Ithaca: Dept. of Housing and Design, Cornell University, 1969.)

This company has since been purchased by Boise Cascade Corp. As of mid-1969, it was reported that Boise had 23 vacation-home communities under development.