Affluent Market for Vacation Homes: Full and Fractional Ownership and Destination Club Memberships

The American Affluence Research Center has studied the affluent market for vacation homes every 2 years since 2005. The new Spring 2009 survey report includes relevant comparisons to the 2007 survey results.

This report contains data derived from a series of questions about vacation home ownership and familiarity with the concepts of Private Residence and Destination Clubs. Brand awareness, current ownership, and interest in purchase (during the next 12 months) were also measured for the two concepts. Current ownership of wholly-owned second homes and plans to purchase (during the next 12 months) one for seasonal or year-round use were also identified. With this new report, you will learn:

• The percentage of the affluent familiar with the private residence and destination club concepts and how this has changed since 2007.
• The brands/companies in both businesses with which the affluent report familiarity and how this has changed since 2007.
• The brands/companies in both businesses that the affluent recognize and how this has changed since 2007.
• Which segments of the affluent have the highest level of familiarity with the two concepts and with the brands in each business.
• Current ownership among the affluent of wholly-owned vacation homes and time share, private residence club, and destination club units.
• Plans by the affluent to seriously consider purchase during the next 12 months of wholly-owned vacation homes and time share, private residence club, and destination club units.
• Which segments of the affluent have the highest level of ownership or access to a vacation home and which are most likely to consider such an acquisition during the next 12 months
• The current estimated value of wholly-owned vacation homes and how the values compare to the value of their primary residences and to vacation home values in 2007.
• The usage of vacation homes throughout the year versus seasonally.
• The distance between the primary residence and the vacation home.

This report is based on the responses of 640 men and women from households with an average income of $290,000, an average net worth of $3.1 million, and average investable assets of $1.4 million. The average age is 56 and 58% are males.

Research Methodology

Data in this special report was drawn from the Spring 2009 Survey of Affluent Americans, the fifteenth in a continuing series of twice-yearly studies of the most affluent 10% of U.S. households (a total of 11.2 million households with an average $3.1 million net worth).

These surveys measure and track how the affluent assess current business conditions and their 12-month outlook for the economy, the stock market, and their personal household earnings. The surveys also monitor anticipated changes in spending for a variety of different products and services, changes in expected rates of saving, and primary investment objectives.

Unlike other affluent and luxury market research that is based on surveying online panels of people who are compensated for responding to regular and frequent surveys, our unique direct mail study is based on samples drawn at random from, and representative of, the select population of the wealthiest 10% of US households.

This study is based on self-administered questionnaires mailed to a randomly selected, national sample of 5,000 men and women in households that, based on their income and ownership of certain assets, were expected to meet the minimum net worth requirement of $800,000.

The overall survey response rate was 16.9 percent. These survey results are based upon the 640 men and women who promptly responded to the survey and met the minimum net worth requirement. The maximum margin of error of this survey, at 95% confidence, is five percentage points.