Could Vacation Homes Help Revitalize the Catskills?

  |  April 7, 2015
catskills cabin rental

Vacation rentals, like this one in Sullivan County, are big business around the Catskills.

 

According to this story that came out on MainStreet.com last week, vacation and second home purchases are skewing younger these days. A lot younger, based on information from the National Association of Realtors, with age 43 as the average age of those buying second homes, as opposed to an average age of 61 back in 2003. But the use of the word “second home” might be a little misleading here. Turns out, the influx of new blood into the market is actually renting their primary residence and buying their second home first. That way, they can beef up their income with a rental by listing it on VRBO or AirB&B. For those of us who live within the Vacation Land known as the Catskills, all of this might sound familiar. In fact, the story specifically calls out the Catskill region: “In the Catskills, listings for the New York mountain resort area have grown 56% on VRBO.com and 24% on HomeAway.com over the last five years.” That sounds like a significant increase to us. We’ve already talked about alpacations as the region’s new cottage industry, but could actual cottages give the Catskills an economic shot in the arm? Stay tuned. Oh, and by the way, dibs on on the word “rental-preneur.”

About Kandy Harris

Kandy is a writer and musician/music teacher living in Saugerties, NY.

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