It came as a big surprise to the real-estate industry this past year that second homes accounted for more than one-third of annual sales.

Before 2005, the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) survey techniques failed to accurately gauge the size of this market, even though anecdotal evidence had indicated a substantial increase in second-home purchases over the previous decade.

And, although baby boomers make up a large part of the second-home market, a growing number of foreign buyers also are in it, taking advantage of a weaker dollar.

In Seattle, many second-home buyers have children in college here or work in the high-tech industry and live between Seattle and their hometowns. Many folks also have places here for the summer and then go to their condo’s in Palm Springs in the winter.

Seattle Times Article