The 10 Best Places to Buy a Second Home in the U.S.

Buyers looking for second homes may want to use the property for vacations, or for financial investment as median home values continue to rise. Beachfront properties were the most popular in the new market ranking.

Ocean City, New Jersey on the Jersey Shore came out on top in the latest SmartAsset ranking. Of all homes purchased in this metropolitan area, 72 percent were secondary homes, which was the highest share in the study. Secondary homebuyers in Ocean City, on average, had an income almost three times the amount of homebuyers seeking a primary dwelling in the city.

While it’s not surprising that people buying secondary homes have higher incomes than those buying primary dwellings, the size of the difference is substantial. The average homebuyer purchasing a secondary home has an income of $197,400, while those buying a primary residence have an average income of $74,100. The average household purchasing a secondary home has an income equal to 2.6 times the average income of a household purchasing a primary residence.

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