Affluent buyers are driving a modest second-home revival after four straight years of declines
Second-home mortgage originations rose 4.1% year over year in 2025, the first annual increase since the pandemic-era peak in 2021, according to a Redfin analysis of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data.
The rebound outpaced growth in primary-home lending, which edged up just 1% over the same period, underscoring how a narrow band of affluent buyers is driving activity while broader affordability constraints keep millions of Americans locked out.
The recovery is concentrated at the top of the income scale. Some 85% of last year's vacation-home mortgages went to high earners, who carried a median income of roughly $294,000 — more than three times the US median household income of $88,000, according to Redfin.
The typical second home was valued at $515,000 in 2025, compared with $395,000 for primary residences, reflecting the discretionary nature of the purchase.
Mortgage Professional America · Redfin / HMDA
Second-home mortgage originations by year
Number of U.S. mortgage originations for second homes, 2021–2025
| Year | Originations | YoY change |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 Peak | ~262,000 est. | — |
| 2022 | ~152,000 est. | −42% |
| 2023 | ~91,000 est. | −40% |
| 2024 | 86,604 | −5% |
| 2025 ↑ First increase | ~90,200 est. | +4.1% |
Source: Redfin analysis of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data, 2018–2025. The 2024 figure (86,604) is confirmed by Redfin. All other origination totals are estimated by applying Redfin-reported annual percentage changes to the confirmed 2024 baseline and are rounded to the nearest thousand. Pre-2021 origination totals are not individually reported in the cited source.
A market defined by wealth
Despite the uptick, second-home mortgages remain a small fraction of total originations. They accounted for just 2.7% of all mortgage activity in 2025, up marginally from 2.6% in 2024 but well below the 5.1% peak recorded in 2021.
The segment had previously contracted in dramatic fashion — falling 42% in 2022 and 40% in 2023 — and demand for second-home mortgages had reached its lowest level in nearly a decade before the modest 2025 rebound.
A base effect explains part of the improvement. Second-home purchases dropped to roughly half of pre-pandemic levels in 2024, leaving considerable room for even a mild uptick in demand, concentrated mostly among wealthy buyers, to register as the first annual gain in four years.
"Vacation homes are making a modest comeback, but it's a very different market than it was during the pandemic," said Chen Zhao, head of economics research at Redfin, in the firm's report.
"Today's second-home buyers tend to have the financial flexibility to make a big, discretionary purchase even in an expensive housing market, while many would-be buyers of primary homes are sidelined by high costs. Vacation homes are less appealing for regular Americans than they were during the pandemic because mortgage rates are much higher now and rentals are less lucrative."
Wealthy buyers have been pushing US home prices to all-time highs even as most Americans remain priced out, a two-speed dynamic that is now visibly reshaping the vacation-home segment as well.
Where second-home demand is strongest
West Palm Beach, Florida led all major metros, with second-home mortgages accounting for just under 6% of all loan originations in 2025, reflecting the city's status as a snowbird destination and a major driver of the nation's luxury market.
The New Brunswick, NJ metro, which covers the Jersey Shore, ranked second at 4.6%, followed by Riverside, CA — the Palm Springs area — at 3.8%. All three markets posted year-over-year gains, with New Brunswick recording the sharpest increase at 13%.
Mortgage Professional America · Redfin / HMDA
Where vacation-home mortgages are most and least common
Second-home mortgage share, year-over-year change, and median second-home value — 50 most populous U.S. metros, 2025
| Year | YoY change | Share of all mortgages | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Pandemic peak | 5.1% | Record high share |
| 2022 | −42% | — | Largest single-year drop |
| Metro area | Share of all mortgages |
YoY change | Median second- home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 Metros with the highest share | |||
| West Palm Beach FL | 5.5% | +1.2% | $695,000 |
| New Brunswick NJ (Jersey Shore) | 4.6% | +13.0% | $1,045,000 |
| Riverside CA (Palm Springs) | 3.8% | +2.7% | $675,000 |
| Nassau County NY | 3.2% | +10.3% | $1,915,000 |
| Phoenix AZ | 3.2% | +9.8% | $545,000 |
| 5 Metros with the lowest share | |||
| Oakland CA | 0.5% | −1.0% | $995,000 |
| Montgomery County PA | 0.5% | +28.8% | $620,000 |
| Cleveland OH | 0.6% | +5.3% | $315,000 |
| Detroit MI | 0.6% | +1.1% | $275,000 |
| Philadelphia PA | 0.6% | −17.6% | $355,000 |
Source: Redfin analysis of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data, 2025. Share reflects second-home mortgage originations as a percentage of total mortgage originations within each metro. Median second-home value is the median appraised value or sale price as reported by mortgage loan originators to HMDA. YoY change reflects origination volume, not share. Data covers the 50 most populous U.S. metro areas.
Demand grew in 35 of the 50 most populous US metros in 2025. Montgomery County, Pennsylvania saw the biggest annual gain at 28.8%, followed by Indianapolis at 26.6%. Las Vegas recorded the steepest decline at 20.9%, trailed by Los Angeles at 19.8%.
The buyer profile reinforces the wealth concentration story. More than 81% of vacation-home mortgages went to white buyers, and nearly 59% went to buyers aged 45 to 64. Gen Xers dominated the segment.
Global luxury home interest in the US has doubled amid accelerating wealth flows into American real estate, a trend that appears to be filtering into the second-home mortgage market as well.
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