BABY BOOMERS, FLUSH WITH STOCK GAINS, DRIVE RECORD VACATION HOME SALES

Wealthy Americans bought more than 1.1 million vacation homes last year, according to an annual survey from the National Association of REALTORS®. These purchases are up 57 percent from 2013 and are the highest they’ve been since the survey began in 2003. Vacation home sales represented a record-high 21 percent of all home purchases in 2014, according to the national trade group. However, California and its sky-high housing prices did not experience this trend with the percentage of vacation home sales falling to just 5 percent in 2014 from 6 percent in 2013, according to a tally by the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.