If you are looking for a seasonal home in either the Southeast or the desert Southwest, the news about current drought conditions affecting wide areas in these regions may well enter into your decision about exactly where to buy and where you may choose to avoid.

With all the stories about Global Warming coming at us daily from just about every news organization, it’s little wonder that people might begin to take a closer look at climate change predictions before buying in certain markets. The first and most obvious region where these factors have caused some market distress was the hurricane-prone areas along the U.S. coastline, particularly in Florida and along the Gulf Coast. And there appears to be a growing concern in some quarters about the likelihood of sea level rise due to Global Warming. When and to what degree will this affect how potential buyers evaluate vacation home properties?

The drought-related stories coming out of the Southeast, and particularly Georgia, are stirring more discussion about how local and regional real estate markets may be impacted if current trends continue or accelerate. Drought concerns are also affecting large areas of the Southwest, where leading climatologists are making predictions of a possible shift toward long-term drought conditions.

For an informative article on how fears of drought and other climate change may affect the real estate market, click here for a sobering piece on the subject from Realty Times.

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Given the tsunami of bad news about the U.S. housing and mortgage markets, it is only natural that potential homebuyers are a nervous lot. The short-term market statistics have heightened concerns that perhaps real estate is no longer a good investment. While the question of how long the current downturn will extend and at what level home prices will bottom out, the fact remains that current conditions will not prevail in the long term. When looking at buying real estate, it’s important to take the long view, like successful investors in the stock market.

While current weakness in the housing market requires that real estate buyers be more cautious about the property they are purchasing and how they will finance the purchase, long-term trends support the proposition that homeownership is still the best investment on can make. To argue that the current market conditions are going to prevail out into a bleak future, one would have to presume that the cost of land, labor and building materials are going to remain static or fall in coming years. Simply put, this is not going to happen. And these rising costs over time continue to make owning a home a great investment. There are many other underlying factors that also support confidence in the security of real estate investments, called by economists the ‘fundamentals’. One of these factors is the increase in demand for housing spurred by a surge in immigrants in many markets. There are many others.

For more on why those who are fence-sitting about buying a home because of all the bad news in the housing market, click here for an article that forcefully argues that the current downturn and price drops will be counterbalanced by the long term growth in the value of real estate.

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Looking at increasing the efficiency of space usage in your vacation home? There’s a nifty new twist on the hide-a-bed concept. No more back breaking sofa beds. The new designs also are a great improvement on the old Murphy bed tilt-up concepts. The new design allows maximum flexibility in a minimum of space. It’s all about the slats. Instead of a rigid or semi rigid bed frame, the innovative new design works something like a roll top desk in reverse. Intrigued? Have a look.

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Here are nine great vacation homes across the U.S. that you can get for around $1 million (asking prices vary from $1.195 million to $895,000).

Mathews, Virginia: $1,195,000

4 Bedrooms, 5 Bathrooms, 4.89 Acres, Waterfront

Howard, Ohio: $1,155,306

5 Bedrooms, 4 Bathrooms, 2436 Square Feet, 143 Acres, Pond

Incline Village, Nevada: $1,150,000

3 Bedrooms, 3 Bathrooms, .413 Acres

Destin, Florida: $1,125,000

5 Bedrooms, 2976 Square Feet, Guest House

Paso Robles, California: $998,000

3 Bedrooms, 1 Bathroom, 2.25 Acres

Hilton Head Island, South Carolina: $995,000

2 Bedrooms, 2 Bathrooms, Ocean View

Clinton, Connecticut: $950,000

3 Bedrooms, .17 Acres, Waterfront

Johnsburg, Illinois: $899,900

5 Bedrooms, 2.5 Bathrooms, .55 Acres

Tiki Island, Texas: $899,900

3 Bedrooms, 3.5 Bathrooms, .12 Acres, Bay Views

Lake George, New York: $895,000

4 Bedrooms, 4 Bathrooms, .58 Acres

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Lunenburg, Nova Scotia is located on a peninsula at the western side of Mahone Bay, in the South Shore area of Nova Scotia. Historically, Lunenburg was an important seaport and shipbuilding center. Its first settlers, in 1753, were primarily German and Swiss protestants who came over from Europe. Because of its important Maritime history, and because it is the best surviving example of a planned British colonial settlement in North America, it was designated a UNESCO (United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization) World Heritage Site in 1995.

The schooner Bluenose was built in Lunenburg. It was a fishing vessel as well as a racing schooner, and was undefeated in the International Fishermen’s Series races. After it’s racing career it became a touring vessel that visited the Chicago World’s Fair in 1933, and England in 1935 among other destinations. It won the last International Fishermen’s Series in 1938. After that it was used as a freighter to take goods to the Caribbean, and in 1946, it went aground on reef near Haiti. In 1963, Oland and Sons built a replica of the Bluenose, the Bluenose II, as a promotion for their new Schooner Beer. The schooner was later sold to the government of Nova Scotia for $1 and now serves as a seafaring goodwill ambassador and tourist attraction in Lunenburg.

Despite Lunenburg’s relatively small population (2800 residents), it does have a number of excellent attractions and cultural activities. There are 19 art galleries in Lunenburg, and over 160 restaurants. Lunenburg is also home to The Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic, and has a number of summer festivals including the Lunenburg Craft Festival, the Lunenburg Waterfront Seafood Festival and the Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival (a musical gathering depicting traditional Maritime folk). There are beaches, scenic drives, golfing, hiking, biking, kayaking and plenty of other recreational activities in and around Lunenburg, which means there’s plenty to do when visiting your second home there.
Real estate prices are very reasonable in Lunenburg, with river and lakefront homes starting at around $150,000CDN and oceanfront homes starting a little over $500,000CDN. Areas surrounding Lunenburg are less expensive, with oceanfront homes starting at under $200,000CDN and river and lake front homes starting at under $100,000CDN (although most are priced between $100,000 and $300,000CDN).

For more information about Lunenburg, you can visit their municipal website, or Explore Lunenburg for tourism information.

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