In a recent article in Barron’s, the financial magazine reports that luxury home sales and construction are picking up in some markets. Overall, the media sales price of $1 million-plus homes dropped 3.6%, but several markets saw substantial increases.
Barron’s identifies Sea Island, Georgia as the top luxury second home market. With median prices that increased 31.8% over the previous year, the Sea Island improvement bested other luxury markets like Palm Beach, Pebble Beach, Kiawah Island and Scottsdale.
While Sea Island, adjacent to St. Simons Island, is a unique sub-market in the Golden Isles, the improvement spills over to our local economy and second-home sales in area neighborhoods.
Where America’s Top Retreats Stand in 2013* (for the full article and market list, click here to visit Barrons)
| Retreat | Median Sales Price | % Change |
| 1. Sea Island, Georgia | $2,175,000 | +31.8% |
| 2. Palm Beach, Florida | $3,360,500 | +13.0% |
| 3. Hanalei, Hawaii | $1,806,250 | +28.2% |
| 4. Pebble Beach, California | $1,537,500 | +17.1% |
| 5. Martha’s Vineyard, Mass | $2,306,667 | +13.2% |
| 6. Park City, Utah | $1,726,000 | +13.4% |
| 7. Vail, Colorado | $2,602,875 | +7.6% |
| 8. Kiawah Island, South Carolina | $1,650,000 | +6.5% |
| 9. Scottsdale, Arizona | $1,445,833 | +4.6% |
*Source: Barron’s
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