There are about 7.4 million vacation and second homes in the U.S., or about 5.6 percent of the total housing stock, according to a recent National Association of Home Builders analysis of 2016 national census data. Florida has the largest stock of second homes—1.1 million properties—followed by California, New York, Texas, Michigan, North Carolina, Arizona, and Pennsylvania.
“The concentration of second homes is not simply restricted to conventional locations like beachfront areas,” the NAHB reports on its Eye on Housing blog. Second homes account for at least 10 percent of the local housing stock in about 916 counties in 49 states, according to NAHB’s research. Connecticut and Washington, D.C., were the two exceptions. The counties with the most second homes tend to be located in or near metro areas. The following 10 counties have the most second homes:
- Maricopa County, Ariz.: 113,513 second homes
- Palm Beach County, Fla.: 99,536
- Broward County, Fla.: 97,224
- Lee County, Fla.: 95,671
- Miami-Dade County, Fla.: 87,225
- Riverside County, Calif.: 76,331
- Pinellas County, Fla.: 65,281
- Barnstable County, Mass.: 63,225
- Collier County, Fla.: 61,050
- Suffolk County, N.Y.: 58,452
Source:
“Nation’s Stock of Second Homes,” National Association of Home Builders’ Eye on Housing blog (Dec. 6, 2018)