The pandemic-era vacation-home boom appears to be unraveling. A new analysis found that U.S. vacation-home purchases financed with a mortgage fell 65.8% between 2021 and 2025, dropping from 257,549 purchases to just 88,158 nationwide. Because vacation homes are typically discretionary purchases, the category can also act as a leading indicator for broader economic conditions. Sharp declines in second-home buying may reflect changing consumer confidence, affordability pressures, and reduced financial flexibility—even among higher-income households that traditionally drive resort and leisure real estate markets. The report examines where second-home demand has declined the most across the country, ranking states and metro areas based on the change in vacation-home mortgage originations since the height of the pandemic housing boom.
