The Second Home Revolution: Living in Two Places for Less

The second home revolution has arrived, and it's not what you might expect. Americans are reimagining how they live by embracing a dual-location lifestyle that was once reserved for the wealthy but is now accessible to remote workers, young professionals, and strategic thinkers.

With 6.5 million second homes across the United States (representing 5% of housing stock), this movement transcends luxury and enters the realm of practical lifestyle design. The game-changer? Remote work flexibility has untethered 28% of full-time American workers from a single location. This freedom allows people to design lives around seasonal energy—summers in mountain towns like Asheville where cool breezes provide respite from southern heat, winters along Florida's coasts where sunshine heals northern souls.

What makes this revolution truly remarkable is the financial equation. Through midterm rentals (1-6 month stays catering to traveling nurses, corporate relocations, and seasonal migrants), homeowners can offset costs and potentially earn more from owning two properties than one. Budget airlines like Allegiant have responded by connecting complementary regions with fares as low as $39, creating natural migration pathways between places like Asheville and Fort Lauderdale.

The concept isn't entirely new—seasonal migration began with wealthy families in the late 1800s when railroads connected northern cities to southern resorts. Today's difference lies in democratization; younger buyers under 45 are entering the second home market not for retirement planning but for immediate lifestyle enhancement.

Ready to explore how two homes could transform your life while potentially costing less than one? Whether you're seeking mountain air, coastal breezes, or desert warmth as your seasonal complement, we can help you navigate this exciting new approach to homeownership. Call us at 828-333-4483 to discuss how the second home revolution could work for you.

Chapters

• 0:22 Meet Your Host Rowena Patton
• 1:28 The Second Home Revolution Explained
• 5:36 Remote Work: The Freedom Engine
• 9:31 Midterm Rentals: The Overlooked Cash Flow
• 17:52 Living in Energy: Lifestyle Design
• 27:07 Allegiant Flights and Second Home Connections
• 43:28 Top Routes from Asheville to Everywhere
• 53:33 Closing Thoughts on Second Homes

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

This is the Plain English Real Estate Show with your host, rowena Patton, a show that focuses on the real estate market in terms you can easily understand. Call Rowena now. The number is 240-9962 or 1-800-570-9962. Now here's the English girl in the mountains, the agent that I would trust, rowena Patton.

Speaker 2: 0:22

Good morning and welcome back to the Real Estate News Radio Show. I'm your friend in real estate, rowena Patton, here with All-Star Powerhouse at eXp, and can you believe we've been chatting on Saturday mornings for our 13th year. It feels like it was just yesterday. We were getting started. Maybe it doesn't for you, maybe you just tuned in, and that's fine too. For those of you just tuning in, or maybe you're new to the area, real Estate News Radio is your go-to source for everything you need to know about buying, selling and investing in real estate. And if you live in the broadcast area today, I have the link to listen. Live anywhere at realestatenewsradiocom. And remember, if you're thinking about listing your home anywhere in the USA and Canada, give us a call 828-333-4483. We've got agents standing by 24-7. This is Rowena Patton here at All Star Powerhouse. This is Rowena Patton here at All Star Powerhouse, brokered by eXp.

Speaker 2: 1:28

So let's dive into a fascinating trend that's really been gaining some momentum the second home revolution. And before you're thinking about, oh my gosh, this is just people with money that have a second home or a third home or a fourth home, all these people that are throwing their money around and they can afford to do that and it's so expensive. And why would you do that? There's a variety of reasons that we're going to dig into, but here's the thing you can actually own a second home and have it cost you less than having one home, obviously because of the rise of Airbnb or renting things out. And then you go, oh my gosh, I don't want to be a landlord. I've been through all that before Obviously because of the rise of Airbnb or renting things out. And then you go, oh my gosh, I don't want to be a landlord. I've been through all that before. Well, there's ways around that too, but it's kind of fascinating to learn the reasons, I think, especially as it's a lot of young people doing this as well. You even may know some of them I know, for example, my niece is renting a place in Fort Lauderdale, so she has a home there. However, she really doesn't like the summers and she makes enough money at her job her regular job that she can take a few months off, and she's a mobile worker as well, so she can earn money wherever she's at. And, of course, that is another massive change, societal change that's happened especially since the era of COVID. So what's really behind this shift. Why are more people than ever buying second homes? Not just as a splurge, but as a strategy? And the next segment? We're going to go through absolute numbers and, honestly, it will shock you. So it's not a splurge. Sometimes it's a strategy.

Speaker 2: 3:12

Let's break down the three biggest forces driving this new movement. So the first one is remote work. They call it the freedom engine. Let's start with the game changer. Millions of Americans can now work from anywhere. That's not a slogan, it's a fact. In 2023, 28% of full-time workers in the US worked remotely at least part of the time. That number spikes even higher in industries like tech and finance and consulting. So this new flexibility means people are no longer necessarily tethered to one city.

Speaker 2: 3:56

Now, of course, you've got all the issues that go on there between is one person retired, are they both young, can they both work with that flexibility, or do they not have a partner? So often now, young people are staying independent and not having a partner, so that's probably doing it too. I guess. The good news is you don't have to wait for retirement to spend six months or three months, or whatever it is, by the water, on the ocean, in the mountains, in the desert, by the grandkids by the kids being 25 and just wanting to travel. You just need good Wi-Fi and a plan. I actually met somebody recently that lives in South Florida, has a house in London and has a house in Spain across all of that and he is retired. But he retired very young after selling a company. So think about it you could spend spring and summer in the cool air of Asheville, then head down to Florida or the Gulf Coast or any of the other areas that we're going to go through today that have all kinds of historical ties, for the winter or while still working full-time, if you wanted to.

Speaker 2: 5:14

Perhaps you work part-time, perhaps your partner is mobile and you don't work all kinds of reasons. It's not vacation, necessarily it could be but it's just real life, just redesigned in a different way, and, honestly, you'll be very, very surprised at how many people are doing this. So here's another big reason midterm rentals. So you may have heard about short term rentals. Short term rentals are literally that you see a lot on Airbnb and VRBO where, depending on whether it's permitted or not, like for example in Asheville, it's very hard to do short-term rentals downtown because, well, all kinds of reasons that we've been into in all kinds of other shows. So you know, it just depends on where you're at. So here's the part most people miss. If you're not using your home year round, you can still make money from it, and you don't even have to Airbnb it weekly. It could be a midterm rental and again, you'd be very shocked at how common and how popular these are. So midterm rentals, which are typically one to six months, which, of course, is perfect for what we're talking about here, are a booming category. So why is it booming? Because of traveling nurses. So there's around 2 million active traveling nurses probably more than that in the US. They make a lot of money and they travel to where they're needed. And again, that comes from historical basis, where it's become very hard to recruit enough nurses in. There's always a list, so the hospitals will pay for them to move and pay them more.

Speaker 2: 6:53

Also, corporate relocations what about where people are relocated? It may be divorcing couples in transition, where they just need something for three months, six months. Also, remote workers in need of just a change of scenery. It's also a case whereby maybe you're building a home. What happens when you build a home? You want to go and look around the area, especially if you're moving, or maybe you're just moving and you're not building a home. You may need something in that interim. Now, if you are building a home, we have builder CPO, which you don't have to worry about being homeless, which many people are when they're building a home.

Speaker 2: 7:33

It's very hard for a builder to hit that absolute date. What do I mean by that? So here we are and your builder tells you if it's in our area, it's probably going to be eight months to 12 months, even longer for a custom home, 18 months, because we're in the mountains Across the country. A six-month build-out would be fast. It's very hard for the builder to know and you can look back, by the way, realestatenewsradiocom, realestatenewsradiocom click on the podcast button there. All of our live shows are then podcasts so that you can find them and just look for the builder ones. So builders find it very hard to you know. Give you a date, okay, six months.

Speaker 2: 8:18

The problem is you may have heard of this thing called tariffs, port closures. Like everybody else, builders you know might have staffing issues. Suddenly, kitchens may cost more. Suddenly there may be a backlog on getting the cabinets in. Whatever it is, that can take a little bit longer. You'll know that it's very hard for a builder, for all the right reasons, to hit that absolute date.

Speaker 2: 8:41

Well, here comes, herein comes, the problem. If you're building a house and you're selling your home, how do you know when to list it? Oh my gosh, right, what kind of pain is that? Because you don't want to have to go into one of these midterm rentals. Obviously, a lot of people don't know about this program, so they end up having to have a midterm rental just to take some of the stress off. They have to move twice to the midterm rental and then to the house, and often you have to put lots of your furniture in storage. So if you don't want to do that, go, check out, build a CPO.

Speaker 2: 9:14

What we really do is you don't have to list your house. Two thirds of our sellers make more than with a regular listing. This works all over the country, by the way. We've got agents, partner agents doing this all over the country and what happens is, you know, probably 80% of the time it's very hard. Probably 95% of the time it's very hard for a builder to say, six months out, here's the absolute date. I'll give you $100,000 if I don't meet that date. You know most builders wouldn't do that and there's nothing wrong with that. I'm not getting it builders. There's all kinds of reasons why that's so difficult.

Speaker 2: 9:50

However, if you ask a builder and say you know when you're getting your CEO the certificate of occupancy, that's when you, as the home buyer, can move in, are you able to figure out 14 days out, the absolute date? 98% of the time it flips. They can say yes. So what that means is you can press that cash offer button. We've already got you approved and everything else. I just got one through the underwriters right before we went on air. We can get that all fully approved for you. So when you're ready to press that button, you'll get up to 70% of your money. You can move into your new home. We'll go into your old home. We'll do the HGTV magic. Two thirds of the time. You'll make more money. You'll get a second check. What happens if you don't? Average is 90 to 120%.

Speaker 2: 10:37

Remember, you haven't had to take out that midterm rental in the second home revolution, so you don't have that many. You don't have the stress of thinking when's it going to be ready? I don't know when it's going to be ready. You don't have to show your house. You don't have to have a sign outside, a lockbox on the door or anything else. So that works very well for the people who are building a home. Same with corporate relocations, honestly, and divorcing couples in transition too. If you know, know about divorce, cpo we can get you out without you needing the midterm rental right. Same with relocation. Same thing Remote workers needing a change of scenery. We can't help so much in that, obviously, and you may be just renting something for the fun of it, which is fine. So if you didn't know about those programs, then we're looking at midterm rentals for your second home, the overlooked cash flow in that.

Speaker 2: 11:25

So very often the midterm rentals pay more per month than long-term rentals. Most often you're getting 20, 25%, 50%, sometimes double right, because you have, in landlord terms, that's more of a turnover. It costs you to have a turnover in the short term weather. That's why Airbnbs and VRBOs if you could book them 365 days of the year, you're making bank. You're doing really well with that.

Speaker 2: 11:52

So the midterm rentals are something in between a long-term rental and that short-term rental, obviously. So in other words, you could be in an area anywhere north that's got chilly winters. Basically, that's usually where you see it, snowbird time. Or maybe you just want to experience somewhere else. Maybe you've got a new partner across the country and you just want to go and try it out for three months. It could be that all kinds of reasons. The most common one is the snowbirds, obviously. So anywhere north, many of you are thinking about right, sizing, right. So let's say you're not and you've got this big old house and you need to clear out all your stuff anyway. You'll be surprised what an impetus it is If you said honey, you know what I really want to. You know you're still working remotely. I'm not working now. Or you know I'm retired and I'm 45 years old yes, it happens all the time in our new economy. And or maybe both of you work remotely. I just want to go work remotely in the sun.

Speaker 2: 12:48

By the way, I did this for years. So about 10 years ago I had I got a great opportunity for a foreclosure in Charleston. Charleston for those of you listening around the country or elsewhere is about four hours from Asheville. I was working my socks off, so those of you know me know nothing much has changed. However, I wanted somewhere to escape for the weekends. It was so great so I could go down there and work for a week and, you know, still be. I had a tea, a big team and that still taking care of the any listings that I had, or anything like that. I could still look in my, in my back end of my website, where you'll raise your hand and say I want to see your house tomorrow, all my team members could take you out. Nothing changed except that I was having a change in scenery, which was very, very nice. I was by the coast and it was only four hours away so I could drive there. So it worked really, really well for me for about five years and I went into divorce CPF at that point. So something changed in my life at that point where I no longer had that place.

Speaker 2: 13:52

But you know, it was really really great for a very, very long time and we didn't choose to rent out our house in Asheville. However, that would have been a great thing to do because it would have made us clean it up and remember you can rent out either. So, especially if you're snowbirds and here's the argument I hear here right Like, oh, nobody's going to want to rent out a house in Asheville in the winter. You'd be shocked For all of the reasons that we went through before traveling nurses, corporate relocations. Maybe you want to build in Asheville, maybe you want to try out Asheville.

Speaker 2: 14:27

I know of a couple recently that live in Charlotte, which, again for those of you who don't know the area, is two miles, two hours drive away from Asheville. Neither is retired. They want to come for long weekends. They do get Fridays off, thursdays off sometimes, so they're coming for a four-day weekend. And they did that for six months because they wanted to look around and see they were thinking about buying that second home. But they're looking at a second home at five $600,000, $800,000. It's very nice for them to be able to rent and they were renting around $3,500 a month in a house with all their stuff in storage where they're snowbirds and they're down in South Florida and coming back when that person you know is not there in their midterm rental anymore. So all kinds of reasons.

Speaker 2: 15:14

Also, people say, oh yeah, well, you know, we have our place. When everybody wants to be there in South Florida in the winter, nobody wants to be there in the summer, not true. South Florida in the winter, nobody wants to be there in the summer, not true. Same thing. I know of many people that rent out their places in Florida for the summer. Again, you've got people. I know of one person who has been in. He's from New York. He's been. He's in his mid thirties. He works in high tech. He wants more opportunity in high tech for the company he's working for, so he wants to go back to New York. He's been living in high tech for the company he's working for, so he wants to go back to New York. He's been living in Miami now for something like the last four years and he's going back to New York. However, he's not going back until October. So, yes, he wants to rent for the summer.

Speaker 2: 15:57

It happens all the time and it's not hard. You'll be surprised how it's just these limiting beliefs we have about the lifestyle we have. Oh, we can't, honey, we can't possibly afford a second home. Well, what if I told you, not only can you afford it, it might even bring you in more money by having two homes. Crazy, right? You'd be shocked. And I can show you examples of that.

Speaker 2: 16:20

Now, midterm rentals as well. Whether you choose to do it on your primary or the secondary home that you have, or you choose to do it on both. There's easy ways to do that, especially if you can lock up something in the home you've got. Usually when you're doing your midterms and it's not the Airbnb, there's less partying, people are doing it for work, so you don't have to worry about that so much. Then you can actually rent both. Let's say you're just renting one, usually the one you're going to for two months or three months or six months, whatever it's at over the winter.

Speaker 2: 16:53

You've got storage or you've got something there where the next person can just come in and it's fully furnished. You're not thinking about storing anything. You can have a little lock and go. A lot of people have second homes. They like having second homes because they can leave their toothbrush there, the toothpaste there, the bikinis there, the trunks there, the towels there, whatever it is. We can still do that when you have a small lockup and most if it's condo, for example, most condo buildings have storage. Or you can take something in the closet. You know, for 500 bucks build out something that's lockable to put your stuff in it. But imagine, even in a low end condo it's eighteen hundred dollars a month. That easily pays your HOA fee south and probably is cash flowing, depending on how much you've put down on the condo. Thousand dollars, two thousand dollars a month Depends what you've got. Here.

Speaker 2: 17:43

We are in segment three already, which is all around living in energy, not just location, lifestyle design. Gosh, this sounds so Asheville, right, and it's all about why more Americans are choosing to live in two places. It's not just Americans, actually, but for today's purposes, not for luxury, but for more of that energetic piece, well-being, strategic lifestyle design, a life by design. So let's start with stats and we're going to delve into, by the way, a lot of historic reasons why these areas are really popular, and even delve into Allegiant flights and looking why that ties two areas together and what that is all about. So, before we talk about how people are feeling, let's take a look at what people are doing. Talk about how people are feeling, let's take a look at what people are doing.

Speaker 2: 18:38

There's 6.5 million second homes in the US. That's about 5% of all housing stock, one in 20 houses. It's amazing, right? Not only that, the shadow inventory that's out there, the Airbnbs, people living in two places, where maybe they're renting and living like my niece is doing, living with friends and family in a different place because they're living in two or three places. It's not even counting those, so we estimate it's about 10% of housing stock. That's one in 10. That's amazing. The average second home value in 2023 was about $475,000. It's more than a primary home. That may be explained by the fact that a lot of these second homes are by the coast, so that may be or in areas that are very popular, so therefore it would be more money. So the average second home is $475,000 compared to $375,000 for a primary home. So, for example, I love this one.

Speaker 2: 19:35

In Cape May County and New Jersey, nearly 50% of all new mortgages last year were for second homes and that's the way they're tracking this. Remember, in the main it's mortgage data. So that's what I meant by shadow inventory. It's only where somebody actually gets a mortgage. Not everybody gets a mortgage, especially in New York, for example, right next door to New Jersey, of course, where a lot of the condos are what are called co-ops. Co-ops are not impossible to get funding on, but often people pay cash. So you know that may not even be recorded in our figures even be recorded in our figures. Here's a really big one More and more younger buyers under 45 are entering the second home market. That just blows me away.

Speaker 2: 20:21

It isn't about retirement anymore. It's about redesigning how we live. I wish I'd known this 20 years ago, honestly, because, well, 10 years ago I did have that second home. I was very blessed. I picked up a little foreclosure and it was at the bottom of the market because of what was happening in real estate at the time. But gosh, that was life changing for me and had we rented either one of our residences out, we'd have actually made money on the two. It's amazing. So this is really being driven by a lifestyle choice, not a luxury. You know, we tended to think of it as a luxury. Oh, when you get enough money, I'll have a second home in X, you know, I don't know Greece, or wherever you want to be. Or or in Florida Get away from these winters, honey which is, you know, most of the north, obviously. So people are really rethinking about how they want to live.

Speaker 2: 21:20

It's not just about where the job is, it's about what feeds your soul. The second home, even, isn't just about square footage or beachfront views. It's about that freedom. It's about being able to ask questions like where do I feel most alive? Or what rhythms match my life right now it depends on you and your personality, right. Where do I go to feel inspired or to heal? For me, that was Charleston. I loved Charleston and it was only four hours away and I'd bundle the doggies into the car and off we'd go. I'd still work. That didn't change at all, but it was just a change of place and the sea air. I love the sea air. So instead of just having to choose one place, people are beginning to realize you don't have to. It's really about living by season, energy, intention, call it what you will, again, depending on you know who you are, what your personality is.

Speaker 2: 22:03

So let's talk about mountains in the summer, a very common one for us in the Appalachia or in Asheville. You know anywhere in the mountains because we're in the Appalachia, or in Asheville. You know anywhere in the mountains because we're in the south. So you're still south and it is cooler, right. So it's cool, cozy, active. It can get a little stinking hot in the summer sometimes, but it's not the same as what we call the lowlands. So guess what I'm going to look at Asheville. I know you're all shocked by that. So people who are living in hotter parts of the country often retreat to the mountains for the summer and they're escaping the heat and reconnecting with nature. Mountain towns offer a mix of wellness, nature, quiet culture, perfect for a summer reset, unless you're downtown and then it can be kind of noisy. So let's look at Asheville, north Carolina. It's long been a haven for Floridians and other Southerners who are seeking relief from the intense summer heat.

Speaker 2: 22:59

It began in the late 1800s, when doctors would prescribe mountain air. As an aside, I've seen this where I've worked in different areas. I worked in Zurich, switzerland, for many years. Different areas. I worked in Zurich, switzerland, for many years. You'll find mountain towns anywhere in the world tend to have better healthcare systems and this is why so in the late 1800s, doctors began to prescribe mountain air. It's also why you find some of the best surgeons in the mountains as well or close to the mountains, because in the late 1800s, or even before that in other countries not as young as the USA, the doctors moved to the mountains to treat all the people that were coming, and doctors tend to have doctors in the family, so it became a family tradition.

Speaker 2: 23:51

So doctors were prescribing mountain air for conditions which they didn't you know, sometimes didn't know what they were like TB, tuberculosis and anxiety, things that they really didn't know how to treat in those days. Some would say they knew how to treat them better, like send them to the mountains and anxiety, you know. Depression, single moms that, oh my gosh, you know. Instead of putting them in an institution for the work of the devil, they'd send them off to the mountains. And then by the 1920s it became a very popular seasonal destination for wealthy families, especially from coastal Florida. But you see, it's not necessarily the wealthy now, but it created that link, that link, that path where those wealthy families had children that get to know the mountains and some of them end up settling there.

Speaker 2: 24:36

So this happened, especially from coastal Florida, where they were escaping the mosquito-borne illnesses and outbreaks from the summer humidity back in the day. Of course I mean not that it doesn't happen now, but we spray for that. And now we deal with all the other terrible diseases right, probably caused by some of those sprays, but that's a whole topic for another show. So today offers that same cool breeze we do still get those cool nights, lush trails, very, very green Anybody in Asheville will tell you how green it is and that vibrant culture that's there. Yes, we had the hurricane come through.

Speaker 2: 25:15

But, oh my gosh, we're hearty folk in the mountains. Music, food, art, it's all still here and it's all wrapped up in nature and it's really a place that lets you breathe. You'll notice when you're flying in. A lot of people are at the windows taking pictures because the mountains from the air are quite remarkable. Here's another one Bend, oregon. So Bend has exploded in popularity for second home buyers from California. So people who work in the Bay or LA somewhere like that often retreat to Bend in the summer, where the air's drier, the landscape's dramatic and the lifestyle's a mix of rugged and upscale, lots of outdoor adventure hiking, kayaking, cycling but also more peaceful and more simple than where they're coming from.

Speaker 2: 26:03

Historically, bend was a timber town that reinvented itself. Now it's known as a playground for creatives, entrepreneurs and nature lovers who want that seasonal shift creatives, entrepreneurs and nature lovers who want that seasonal shift. And then we've got ocean or desert in the winter, sunny, expansive, healing places, sarasota, florida perfect for the winter escape. Historically, it became known in the early 20th century as the winter home of the Ringling Brothers Circus. That cultural DNA and that's what it is runs deep opera, ballet, visual arts institutions far beyond what you'd expect in a city that size palm.

Speaker 2: 26:40

And of course these are. You know some of the reasons why all of this happened. And we could should, of course, go back to Asheville and talk about the Vanderbilts where they built the Biltmore house, which is in the top three most popular tourist attractions in the country. Obviously that created a big draw for people coming to Asheville. And there's lots of other reasons for all of these areas. I'm just touching on these. We did Sarasota already.

Speaker 2: 27:07

Palm Springs, california different kind of soul, open landscapes, warm air, that mid-century charm that's there. Palm Springs obviously his favorite winter retreat since the days of Sinatra and Monroe. Just a wink back to you know the old times. Creatives, designers love it there. It started when Hollywood studios had rules that stars needed to be within two hours of LA. So Palm Springs became the go-to escape. And of course it creates that DNA of the cities the proximity of the city but the distance from the noise.

Speaker 2: 27:43

The Gulf Coast, texas, rockport, port Aransas, galveston, those places, those are the under-the-radar coast areas where buyers from Dallas, austin, houston have been snatching up second homes for decades. Historically, these towns grew from fishing and shipping ports and the seasonal migration began as early as the 1950s. But it creates again that DNA right where families settled there over time. Maybe the kids stayed behind and said I'm not going home. I'm sure you all watched White Locust recently and saw that happen. Today families come for the fishing bird watching. Calm winter temperatures Perfect counterbalance to that urban living. So there's a lot, you know. There's New York City and the Hamptons or Hudson Valley we're clearly going to have to do a whole show over these areas and Washington DC and Hilton Head, for example.

Speaker 2: 28:35

It's not a new idea, guys, it's a reinvented one. It's a practice of seasonal migration isn't new. We all think we just invented it. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was common, especially for affluent families. Then, you know, people couldn't afford to fly back in the days when everybody dressed up to fly. This lifestyle was made possible by the expansion shocker of the railroad system, which allowed people to travel easily between the northern cities and the southern resort towns. And that's a whole show in itself. The Vanderbilts, you know, they had it down to an art. There are urban mansions in New York and opulent retreats like the Biltmore Estate in Asheville. They were built for seasonal living. You summered in the mountains, you wintered by the water. That rhythm wasn't just about the climate, it was about the energy and they could afford to do it then.

Speaker 2: 29:22

It's a little different now, because guess what A lot of it, honestly, is that we can fly cheaply. Right, we've got things like Allegiant Air, for example. Allegiant Air specializes in connecting the more underserved markets in the country with popular vacation spots. Facilitate it. Well, when we say vacation, obviously a lot of that can be for second homes or second areas that we like to go to. It's what we've been talking about all day today. That you know people are looking to. What we've been talking about all day today that you know people are looking to if they're cold in the winter, get away to the sunshine for a little bit. And we're human beings and we tend to go to the same place.

Speaker 2: 30:02

That's why, by the way, when you have an Airbnb, if you've ever been thinking about investing in Airbnbs or VRBO short-term rentals or mid-term rentals, especially short, short term rentals tend to make their money in year two. Why? Because and think about this if you've tried out an Airbnb anywhere else in the country, you go and you try one out and you either love it or you don't like it so much. If you love it, what do you think? The chances are you'll go back to the same one next year? Pretty high. So year two is when Airbnbs make their money, which means all those people that love it. You've now got a set group of people that are coming back the next year. So now you've only got half the year to fill right.

Speaker 2: 30:45

If you wanted 100% occupancy, say, in your Airbnb, you're trying to make money obviously you wouldn't be doing it. There's lots of things that go along with that. It's not free money, obviously. So think about that for a second. That's why when you go to a place, you tend to go back to it. So Allegiant goes what's going on here? We need to put an airline in here. And not only is it. You know they start out with one a week or two a week between routes, and then when they get popular and they're booked out all the time, they add routes. So that tells you something about these cities that are connected together, and often it's because of second homes and wanting a dual lifestyle, even if that dual lifestyle did you hear the English creep in there? I said dual lifestyle. It's called dual in England, not door, just saying so.

Speaker 2: 31:35

For example, allentown, pennsylvania, abe. So that's Orlando, sanford in Florida. So after Allegiant it's a smaller airport, but they call it Orlando. It's really Sanford. It's because more people recognize Orlando. So, in other words, if you're in Allentown, you're like, oh, I want to go to Orlando. You're not going into the direct big airport. Maybe, however, they're going to call it Orlando because you're more likely to recognize it as that. Does that make sense? So this is the number one market share route, believe it or not.

Speaker 2: 32:05

Allentown, pennsylvania to Orlando. I wonder why it caters to the Northeasterners seeking Florida's warmth during colder months. Let's dive more. Number two I was shocked by this. I thought it would be Fort Lauderdale, but we'll talk about that in a minute. Asheville to Orlando it's actually Sanford, but it's okay, it's close enough. It connects the Appalachian region to Central Florida, ideal for seasonal transitions. You know that a lot of people from the north end up retiring to the Orlando area. Now, why do we think that might be no-transcript? I don't know. You tell me. We'd love to hear your thoughts on this, by the way. Then we've got number three. Get this one Fargo, north Dakota. And, by the way, this is all about real estate in the main If you're wondering why we're talking about flights, because these are cities that are connected Fargo to Phoenix. They have 80% of the market share. It's amazing.

Speaker 2: 33:12

Links the Northern Plains to the Southwest Again, popular among snowbirds. Here we go again. Bellingham, washington to Las Vegas. Provides Pacific Northwest residents with access to desert retreats. Same thing again. Number four, guys. It's amazing. Here we come in again. So Asheville is in the top five twice. That tells you something.

Speaker 2: 33:35

Asheville, north Carolina, to Fort Lauderdale. They call it Miami, but we've got Fort Lauderdale here. It's Clearwater to Asheville. Isn't this interesting? It's the other way around. Supports Floridians seeking cooler summer climates in the mountains. That's the reason most often given. Here's another one Phoenix to Provo. I hope I'm pronouncing that right. Provo, utah, sorry guys Connects desert living with mountainous regions appealing for seasonal changes. Interesting, it's the other way around again. So this is the desert to the mountains. I should know Utah by now. I'm not sure where Provo is, my apologies, is it where skiing is? I should have done the research on that before the show. But I'm sure I'm going to get lots of response to you on the podcast. This goes out live, but on the podcast or on all of the social media that it's on afterwards going. You idiot, that's where they ski. Ok, I will look at that if I promise so. Cincinnati to Myrtle Beach. I thought I'd done pretty well for now with all these other areas.

Speaker 2: 34:51

Number eight comes in Cincinnati, ohio, to Myrtle Beach, south Carolina, popular among Midwesterners seeking beach vacations or second homes, be very interesting if we did a deep dive into the history of that. Know too that often that's driven by a small group of friends. Once going to an area you know maybe it's drivable, it could be highways back in the day, it could be a train route back in the day. One group of friends and they're all social and they bring another group of friends. They're like oh, we like it here, you know. And then people retire there and there becomes this trailway opened, if you like, trailway opened, if you like.

Speaker 2: 35:36

Number nine Indianapolis to Pentagorda, florida, serves Hoosiers looking for I'm so sorry, I hope I'm pronouncing this right. I'm going to be so shocked. Just blame it on me being English, okay. Looking for Gulf Coast retreats. Columbus, ohio to Savannah. Collects Ohio residents to the historic charm. Good job, I can laugh at myself.

Speaker 2: 35:56

Right Of the southeast coast. Knoxville, tennessee, to Sarasota, florida. Think about these Floridian ones as well. There's a lot going to Florida and obviously we know that Florida is one of the states that so many people are moving into. But interestingly, you'll find that people come from the north to the west coast or the east coast. Why do you think that is In much it's from the history of the railroads. Secondly, it's the highways, what we just talked about, but also it's friends. It's when friends and family settle there. So Knoxville to Sarasota facilitates travel between the Smoky Mountains or even the Mokies Mountains and Florida's Gulf Coast. So that is snowbirds. It's like oh, it's chilly here in Knoxville in the winter, so we're going to go to the Gulf Coast.

Speaker 2: 36:47

Beautiful area of the country, grand Rapids, michigan. Well, I know it's going to be Michigan to Orlando, right, because you're not going Orlando to Michigan very often, although honestly, you know Michigan's beautiful in the summertime. You've got the mosquitoes in some areas. But this one is going from Grand Rapids to Orlando, which means obviously it goes the other way too, but it's driven by the Michiganders seeking Florida's warmth.

Speaker 2: 37:16

Then we've got Peoria, illinois to I so hope I'm saying it right to Las Vegas. I hope you're all giggling at home, which is just fine. I hope I can make you laugh on a Saturday morning. It's been 13 years of having Saturday mornings with you, so I hope I can make you giggle at this point. So Peoria to Las Vegas provides central Illinois residents with access to desert entertainment and relaxation. We just added a Las Vegas agent. Actually, we'll talk about him over the next few shows. We're so. We're all so excited about it. This is in the cash CPO niches for helping you with builders, senior living, all of that good stuff. We just added an agent in Las Vegas. I'm so excited. Everybody in the group is so excited. It's like, okay, we're all going to Vegas.

Speaker 2: 38:03

Then we've got Des Moines, iowa, to Phoenix Mesa. At least I didn't say Des Moines, right? So that connects the Midwest to the Southwest ideal for winter escapes. There we go again. It's amazing how many of these guys are around winter escapes. We're going to get to Asheville ones in a second, although we already made, I think, three of them in the top 10, which is crazy, and a lot of you are from these areas. I think you find it interesting and we've got people listening all over the country, so you know it helps to know where all these places are related. This is the top 20 list from Allegiant Air.

Speaker 2: 38:38

If you just tuned in, this is Rowena Patton, real Estate News Radio. If you're thinking about any kind of real estate wealth, whether it's for a second home, a full-time home, whether you're investing in real estate short-term rentals, whatever it is, we're all about real estate wealth management. If you need money out in 14 days, whatever it is, we can help you with that all over the country and now in Canada as well. Can't wait to help you. And it's 828-333-4483,. 828-333-4483, 828-333-4483. 4483. 828-333-4483. We've got our receptionist standing by 24-7. Yes, really, you can call them at 2 o'clock in the morning. They will take a message if it's that point, because I don't stay up that late. Just saying, but they will take a message at any point from anywhere in the country. We can help you. We've got a lot of knowledge, as you've probably noticed across this amazing team of people. So, number 15, here we go. Countdown time Top 20.

Speaker 2: 39:44

Bangor to Orlando. What do you think that's for? Serving the Northeasterners looking for a break from harsh winters? A lot of those Bangor people are also I'm not sure. Are you called Bangorites? I don't know what you're called. Sorry, guys Are also in South Florida as well, not just Orlando, which is more central.

Speaker 2: 40:06

You know northern central Florida, they're in South Florida as well. So they're going down on those different routes. And then you've got Lexington to Fort Lauderdale. Links the Bluegrass State to South Florida's beaches. Same thing again, seeing a theme here, guys. Then you've got Harrisburg, pennsylvania, to Myrtle Beach, popular among Pennsylvanians seeking coastal retreats. I guess it's almost boring saying it over and over again. Right, springfield, missouri, that's, I believe, the Ozarks. So that's the Ozarks going to Las Vegas. Oh, missouri, that's, I believe, the Ozarks. So that's the Ozarks going to Las Vegas. Oh yeah, if it is the Ozarks, which I believe it is, I think it is Springfield, right. So I am famous for having rolled a golf cart in the Ozarks, but that's a whole other story. And then we've got Appleton, wisconsin, to Phoenix, arizona. No, shock again, wisconsin residents to the warmth of the Southwest. Then we've got Omaha to Orlando.

Speaker 1: 41:03

Why do you think?

Speaker 2: 41:04

that might be Travel between the Great Plains and Florida attractions. Now I'd like to do a deep dive this is a fun one, I think on Allegiant Air non-stop routes from Asheville, north Carolina. Number one this didn't shock me at all. It came in in. Both of these came in in the top five, so I'm gonna have the lowest fares for you as well.

Speaker 2: 41:29

So funny thing is, you know, at this time of year you may just want to get a suntan for the summer. The summer's almost here, guys. We've had some hot, hot days already in the mountains. It's always confusing in the mountains in spring and fall, because one minute it's like the depths of summer and then, oh we, we might have a big storm or it might be really chilly again and nip all those birds. Let's hope not. So number one for Asheville right, these are all Asheville based ones. Well, they're not Asheville based, it's where they're going Fort Lauderdale.

Speaker 2: 41:59

Asheville to Fort Lauderdale the lowest fare is $39. It's crazy. This one's been going for a long time. Again, normal thing that they do. They used to do, I think, one flight either way and you can go back and forward on that one flight. So Tuesdays you went to Fort Lauderdale, tuesday night you came back to Asheville. That has changed. Guys is every day, every single day. Lowest fare is 39. So I know somebody that had a place down here that used to buy six tickets at that 39 dollar rate and then put insurance on them to change them or not even bother, because he always said you know what this, this gets me away every couple of months or every month. He'd buy like six of them, six times 39, by the way, is obviously a normal one airfare so he could get six tickets and he'd just hop on the flight. It's really easy to get to the Asheville airport for most people at least and be in Fort Lauderdale, where he had a little place anytime he wanted to. And if he didn't go and use a couple of those tickets on the dates that he set, he didn't care because it was $39.

Speaker 2: 43:07

Why is it popular? It connects Asheville to South Florida's beaches and cruise ports and you can be in if you're outside traffic. It is 12 minutes from the airport to the beach 12 minutes. Now, if you're in traffic it might take you 30 minutes, but it's not far, which means that you can get an uber. Another important thing when you're in one of these big cities like Fort Lauderdale, orlando or Tampa all of where we're going to in a second in the top 10 from Asheville you can very cheaply Uber. It's not like Asheville where Uber is difficult to get. You can go to Fort Lauderdale and live a mile off the beach. You can get a condo I'm not kidding you for $150,000. People don't realize this. I've seen them at 120 actually a mile off the beach, and then you can Uber to the beach for I don't know eight bucks. Of course, ubers go up when it's popular, right, so it might cost you 12 bucks. You don't have to think about parking. You don't need a car down there, anything like that. That's why it's so popular. And I can't do all of these drive times. But Fort Lauderdale is about 11 hours drive time. So if you want to get in the car and go to your place that you own down there, you can do that too. And, by the way, I can give you lists of all the inexpensive condos I'm talking about in Fort Lauderdale. So just hit us up. 828-333-4483.

Speaker 2: 44:29

This is Rowena Patton on the Real Estate News Radio Show. If you've just tuned in, we've got people standing by 24-7,. 828-333-4483. Let's talk about the next one from Asheville, orlando, to Orlando, sanford Lowest fare $49,. Guys, you like going to Disney? $49. There you go. You might want to go twice a year. Oh gosh, that sounds terrible to me, but I get it. But especially if you've got kids or you're going to see the grandkids. Either way, right, or you're just a big kid. That's fine too. Why it's popular provides access shocker to central Florida's attractions appealing to families and seasonal travelers. Tampa St Pete I moved to Tampa St Pete for a moment. Tampa St Pete I moved to Tampa St Pete for a moment. Actually, we were buying a place there back in 2005. I love the Tampa St Pete area.

Speaker 2: 45:21

Flights from Asheville lowest fare $49. Remember, you can buy these in advance. If you don't use them, yes, you're not going to be happy about throwing $49 away, but buy two or three of them. You've got three flights for $50 each. It's insane, guys. Why it's popular? Obviously it links us to Florida's Gulf Coast and you might want that.

Speaker 2: 45:42

West Coast, orlando, florida we already talked about that one. Why is Orlando? Oh, that's Orlando, actual, florida airport, again, lowest fare if you want to go directly into MCO rather than SBF, which is Sanford, depends what side you want to be that MCO rather than SBF, which is Sanford, depends what side you want to be. That's direct access. The flights are probably a little bit more, I'm not sure, but the lowest fare is 49.

Speaker 2: 46:02

Boston why is that popular? Actually, new England's, why I'm here. Boston's why I'm here. I went there when I was 19. I'm like I've got to get to the States. So it connects ashville to new england. Obviously facilitates travel for both tourism and business.

Speaker 2: 46:16

Las vegas oh, the boston fairs. Lowest fairs 53. Obviously if you're booking a week out, you know sometimes it's not available and you won't. You know you're not going to find those low fares. But here's the thing to do, guys if, if you want to go to boston, choose when you want to go to boston and make it a few months, to make it six months time, Go buy that fare for $53. So why it's popular? Obviously we know why it's popular. Las Vegas Do we even have to say why that's popular? $79, to almost go cross country to Las Vegas, $79. That's crazy. Direct route, obviously, to Las Vegas. I don't think we have to talk about why that's popular.

Speaker 2: 46:54

Denver, colorado lowest fare $64. That's insane, guys. And now we're mountains to mountains, right? So different kind of. I mean people in Denver, colorado go. You don't know mountains if you're in Asheville, right, but it connects these two mountainous regions. So if you live in the mountains, one of the reasons it's so popular in Asheville is because, especially if you're younger, all right, you might be 50 and mountain biking too. Whatever connects to you might like to mountain bike, you might like to hike. Maybe you start out mountain biking, then your knees start to hurt a bit, you start hiking, who knows? And it appeals to outdoor enthusiasts, obviously, and those with dual residences as well. A lot of people between Denver, colorado and Asheville have those dual residences. Sixty four dollars, it's insane.

Speaker 2: 47:43

New York, newark this is a favorite one for me when I when I do ads you know I do ads, tv ads Sometimes I fly into Newark. Newark is really easy to get to downtown New York. It's about as easy as all the other airports $44 to get to New York and back. So if you're going to New York, always think about Newark, it's really not that far out. And Newark, new Jersey. It's across the bridge, right, but it's not very far. And again, you can stay in Newark generally much more cheaply than you can. You got to go to the right places. Obviously there's great eating there as well. It's easier to get into restaurants and you can still go out for not even a day trip. It's so cheap to get to. To get to downtown you can take an uber to downtown New York, but you're not staying in the expensive um, uh, more expensive, should I say. It's not inexpensive in Newark, but you're not staying in the more expensive hotels. Um, a lot of celebrities live in new at new jersey I'm sure you'll know this and it's right next door to manhattan, so real easy to get to.

Speaker 2: 48:45

I've done it myself many times. Here's a good one key west, florida. It's number nine guys from asheville. Number nine most popular $55. If you like Key West, go buy a whole bunch of these. By the way, allegiant's not paying me for this. People think I'm a paid sponsor. I'm not at all.

Speaker 2: 49:05

It's ideal for quick getaways. Do we even have to talk about it really, are you going to fly to? This probably started with the Fort Lauderdale flights and then you were taking a car, which you can also do. It is a nice drive down to Key West. It's quite a long drive and anybody who's driven down to the Keys I used to live in Miami. I've done it numerous times. It's a one-lane road or two-lane road. You've got to go both ways right. So it's a two-lane. It can be very slow and you can get very drunk on the way down. Of course I'm not speaking from experience, maybe a decade or two ago On the way down, stopping at places like Marathon and other places that you used to go for your March spring break back many years ago.

Speaker 2: 49:46

For some of you just saying Then we've got Punta Gorda, fort Myers the lowest fare. I still can't get over Key West. Now you can fly direct to Key West for $55. Punta Gorda, fort Myers the lowest fare. I still can't get over Key West. Now you can fly direct to Key West for $55. Punta Gorda, fort Myers so lowest fare $52. Now it's serving Southwest, so you're getting further down there.

Speaker 2: 50:06

Very popular with retirees and vacationers, so in the winter it's likely to be a bit warmer. When I was in England, the only place I'd think of going to I was doing flights. I'm English, like we fly all over the place I went to. I could name countries all over the world I've been to. Generally I wanted warmth because it's so gray and chilly in the winters in England that I'd only think about Miami or South Florida which I never went to, by the way, when I lived there because it was warm but you weren't guaranteed above 80 degrees. However, the further south you go, the warmer, it's going to be right. So if you're coming from the north and you want it warm, you're going to go more southerly in Florida, phoenix, arizona $59. I love Phoenix, I just love it. So it connects you to the southwest desert climate.

Speaker 2: 50:53

If you have asthma or something where you're affected by the humidity, you've got that dry climate and you can as well go. You know it gets very hot, above 100 degrees in the middle of the summer. However, you can. Everybody, most of you know you can stand that dry heat better than you can. The moist heat, the moist heat. People don't like it when I say moist for some reason, but the humid heat, um, you know, makes it feel hotter. So the dry heat there.

Speaker 2: 51:18

Number 12 gosh, I better got to start going quickly. How do we get through so many? Number 12 west palm beach, florida's atlantic coast. So seasonal residence again 46 dollars, dollars. Bradenton, florida, very, very popular. I have another agent there who's absolutely amazing $44,. Go check it out. I'll hook you up with her. All of these areas I can give you, honestly, the best agent in the business that knows how to do things at a whole different level.

Speaker 2: 51:47

Austin, texas, texas. You can get to them. $55. You know they have Keep Austin Weird. We have Keep Asheville weird. Funky music, tech industries. They say that, um, I went to austin 20 years ago. They say that ashville now looks like austin 20 years ago. I can attend to that. We have all the hotels and all the things coming in. Not everybody likes that in ashville.

Speaker 2: 52:10

Houston, let's move on quickly. $49. Provides access to one of the largest, houston's, one of the largest cities in the US. Obviously Business and leisure travelers, obviously it's Houston, chicago. $51. Be careful when you go. Just saying it can get a bit chilly. This is the Midwest's largest city. Chicago is a fantastic city. Family, business, tourism, business and number 17,.

Speaker 2: 52:37

The last one on our list Destin, one of my favorite beaches. It's probably my favorite beach. Destin in Florida, beautiful white beaches. It's a little more northerly so it's going to be a little bit cooler generally. Don't quote me on that, because you're going to go there and it's going to be stinking hot and you're going to blame me for it. $49. Go buy those tickets. If I like to go to Destin and I was back in Asheville and I didn't have another destination in Fort Lauderdale I'd be buying up those Destin tickets. I might just do that anyway, because that's incredible $49, right. However, buy them ahead, and that's why they're so cheap. Or buy them for next week, because you need a break. As usual, it goes by way too fast. Guys, thanks for listening. I'll see you on the radio next week. 828-333-4483. Let's get your second home, or your first home, going and your other one sold.

Speaker 1: 53:33

This has been the Plain English Real Estate Show with Rowena Patton. Visit Rowena and post your questions at radioashvillecom or call her at 828-210-1648.