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Sunriver Houses http://PropertySunriver.com Sunriver Houses: A Good Time to by a Second Home "In many vacation markets, you can pick up a beach condo or a mountain cabin at a decent price. In some markets, homes are back to 2000 prices," said vacation home guru Christine Karpinski, director of Owner Community for HomeAway.com (an online vacation home rental Web site). She says a host of market conditions have converged to make buying a second home a smart move right about now. • (Sunriver Houses) Take the stock market. Please. "Stock market woes have always pushed people to look for alternate investments, and real estate is a consistent stronghold," she says. "Yes, home values are down right now but they have always rebounded. I wouldn’t recommend buying a second home with the expectation of flipping it for a quick buck, but if you hang onto it for a while — and better still, turn it into a vacation rental property -- you'll make a nice profit," Karpinski says. • (Sunriver Houses) Interest rates are cooperating. On Dec. 24 Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey revealed a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) average of 5.14 percent. The rate hasn't been lower since Freddie Mac started the survey in 1971. "Rates have been reasonably low for awhile, following earlier rate cuts toward the beginning of the year. That's good news for anyone who's in the market for a mortgage," Karpinski added. • (Sunriver Houses) The pressure of bidding wars is off. "Housing bubble or no housing bubble, you're not going to get bargain basement prices on, say, a cottage right on the ocean-but if you're willing to buy a few rows back, you'll likely find that prices have fallen substantially," notes Karpinski. "Because houses aren't flying off the shelf, there's less pressure on you to make a quick decision. You can afford to take your time, do your research, and refine your plan," she added. • (Sunriver Houses) Vacation rental demand is on. Economic pressure...