In 2024, the variety of second properties within the U.S. was 6.2 million, accounting for 4.3% of the nation’s housing inventory, based on NAHB estimates. This displays a modest decline from 2022, when the quantity reached 6.5 million. This decline suggests some cooling following the pandemic-era surge in second house demand.
Regardless of the current decline, second properties stay extremely concentrated in a couple of states. Florida had the most important inventory of second properties, with 943,881 items accounting for 15.2% of the nationwide whole. General, half of the nation’s second properties are situated in simply eight states: Florida, California, New York, Texas, Michigan, North Carolina, Arizona, and Pennsylvania.
A more in-depth take a look at county-level knowledge reveals that the focus of second properties shouldn’t be merely restricted to traditional areas like beachfront areas. In whole, 738 counties throughout all 50 states had second properties making up at the very least 10% of the native housing inventory. Solely Washington D.C. was the exception, reporting a second house share of 1.7%. Furthermore, 272 counties—round 8% of all counties nationwide—had second properties accounting for at the very least 20% of housing items.
In some areas, second properties dominate the native housing market. Counties the place at the very least half of their housing inventory is second properties had been broadly unfold over in fourteen states. Of those counties, there have been three counties in Colorado, two counties in Utah, California, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, and one county every in Alaska, Idaho, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, and New York. These nationwide patterns are proven within the interactive map beneath.
Counties with greater than 25,000 second properties are largely situated in or close to metropolitan areas. The highest ten counties with essentially the most second properties account for round 11% of second house shares, most of that are in Arizona, Florida, California, Massachusetts, and New York. Of the highest 10 counties relating to absolute numbers of second properties, solely two counties (Barnstable County, Massachusetts, and Collier County, Florida) had greater than 20% of their housing inventory in second properties.
When it comes to methodology, this evaluation focuses on the quantity and site of second properties that will qualify for the house mortgage curiosity deduction by people and makes use of the Census Bureau’s 2024 American Neighborhood Survey (ACS). It doesn’t account for properties held primarily for funding or enterprise functions.
NAHB estimates are primarily based on the definition used for house mortgage curiosity deduction: a second house is a non-rental property that isn’t categorized as taxpayer’s principal residence. Examples may very well be: (1) a house that was once a main residence as a consequence of a transfer or a interval of simultaneous possession of two properties as a consequence of a transfer; (2) a house beneath building for which the eventual home-owner acts because the builder and obtains a building mortgage (Treasury laws allow as much as 24 months of curiosity deductibility for such building loans); or (3) a non-rental seasonal or trip residence. Nonetheless, properties beneath building aren’t included on this evaluation as a result of the ACS doesn’t accumulate knowledge on items beneath building.