Second home sales have been increasing over the last few years with more people becoming second home owners. In 2005 alone, 40 percent of the homes sold were second homes. Demographics, all time low mortgage rates, and healthy rise in home prices have contributed to this development in the second home market. Besides these, a major factor that has helped augment the buying and selling of second homes is the real estate professional.

The National Association of Realtors conducted research on the profile of second-home owners in 2006. According to the NAR report entitled ‘2006 Profile of Second-Home Owners’, a majority of second home sales transactions are conducted using the services of real estate agents.

The statistics are remarkable; 64 % of vacation home buyers purchased their home using the services of a real estate agent by the end of 2005 – a marked increase from less than 50 % of vacation-home buyers in 2003. Also, 65 % of investment-home buyers purchased their home with the help of a real estate agent – an increase from 53 % of pre-2003. In comparison, only 14 % of vacation-home buyers and 7 % of investment-home buyers purchased directly from builders from 2003 to 2005.

The growing role of the real estate professional is evident from the following figures:

1. Of vacation home sales made, 71 % of them were second homes and 74 % of the sales were made using the services of a real estate agent.

2. Of the investment properties sold, 85 % of them were previously owned and 62 % of the sales were made using the services of a real estate agent.

The use of real estate agents in second home sales transactions varied according to the home’ location.

1. Buyers used a real estate agent more frequently while purchasing a vacation home located in a suburb/subdivision (56 %) or a rural area (57 %) than for homes in other locations.

2. About 66 % of buyers who purchased an investment property in an urban/central city area or in a suburb/subdivision, used the services of a real estate agent more frequently than those who purchased a home in other locations.

Real estate professionals continue to be the first source of information to second-home buyers (38 % of vacation-home buyers and 34 % of investment-home buyers). The real estate professional also plays a major role when second-home owners plan to buy additional properties. If you are thinking of buying a second home or vacation home, seek out the services of a real estate agent to guide you through your next home purchase.

1. The percentage of second home owners who are more likely to use a real estate agent in their next home purchase is quite high. Among vacation-home owners it is 79 % and investment-home owners 73 %.

2. Among second home owners, 65 % of vacation-home owners and 64% of investment-property owners are more likely to use a real estate agent in their next home sales.

Given these statistics, it is no wonder that the real estate agent plays a pivotal role in helping people buy and sell second homes. So whether you are a second-home buyer or seller, enlist the services of an agent for a smooth, hassle free real estate transaction.

The Bahamas is an English speaking country which is made up of around 700 islands and cays located in the Atlantic Ocean. The largest city and the capital of the Bahamas is Nassau. The population of Nassau is over 200 thousand residents, which makes up for 70% of the Bahamas entire population. Visitors to any of the Bahamas islands can enjoy amazing culture, beautiful beaches and fun activates which has made the Bahamas one of the most desired vacation destinations in the whole world, many people opt for the freedom of Bahamas beach villas and Bahamas vacation home rental.

Grand Bahama is the fourth largest island but is one of the most popular and most visited destinations in the Bahamas. Tourism is a major contributor to the local economy especially via visiting cruise ships to the main port. Grand Bahama is lucky enough to own some of the most pristine beaches in the world with famous crystal clear waters and white sandy beaches, perfect for all sun worshipers looking to relax in front of the calming waves. For activity hunters, there are numerous water sports available in the resorts and popular scuba diving or snorkelling experiences to take part in.Grand Bahama beach villas are very popular and increasingly in demand so it is essential to get your booking in early to enjoy the perfect accommodation with some of the best views on the island.

The island of Eleuthera is also very popular, from the air it looks simply stunning thanks to its long and thin structure embedded in the stunning turquoise sea. It is very popular with nature and history lovers, some of the island’s most popular attractions centre around those niches. Eleuthera villa accommodations are beautiful with great views across the ocean.

Many people discount the Bahamas as a vacation destination as they perceive it to be too expensive and only a place for the rich and famous; however this isn’t the case as it becomes more accessible to everyone and offer tourists attractions to people of all ages and tastes. Bahamas vacation home rentals are also becoming more common and therefore are available for all budgets due to the selection. So why not take the trip of a lifetime and experience true paradise on one of the islands in the Bahamas.

If a Belize Adventure vacation is in your schedule, then you will almost certainly go to the Toledo District in South Belize at some point, and if you are going to be anywhere near Punta Gorda, then you must ensure you book into the Hickatee Cottages for at least a couple of nights. This is more than a bed and breakfast inn because it also serves dinner, but it is a definite must do, and comes at USD60 per night double occupancy.

Hickatee Cottages is a very comfortable, extremely attractive jungle lodge with outstanding hosts called Ian and Kate.

It is difficult to believe that this inn is less than a mile and a half from laid back Punta Gorda Town, because it is very much in the jungle.

The three cottages on the property are very Caribbean style, and very comfortable clean rooms with nice verandas, where you can sit with a coffee in the morning, and listen to the sounds of the jungle waking up, and perhaps even see a family of howler monkeys ambling through the grounds. You will almost certainly see and hear loads of parrots and toucans. You will find there are lots of little extras, like extra fluffy towels, insulated water bottles to take out with you, and huge umbrellas, because when it rains here in south Belize, it rains!!

There is a plunge pool to refresh after walking one of the inn’s nature trails. You can use the inn’s bicycles, which by the way are free, to go exploring, or visit Boom Creek Village, take a canoe trip on the Moho River, or take one of the range of tours of the District. There is indeed plenty to do and see, and it’s not far from the Southern Cayes, so if they are part of your Belize Adventure Vacation, then Hickatee Cottages is an ideal stopping off, recharge your batteries point

The food is home cooked at Charlie’s Bar, and much of the ingredients come from their own farm, or the market at Punta Gorda. This is a great bed and breakfast establishment that also serves up great dinners as well, with three dinner choices. If you want to eat out, then the owners will ensure you pick the right places to eat.

One of the great joys of Hickatee Cottages are the owners Ian and Kate who seem to know everything about everything in this region. This means that you will be directed to everything that you think you want to see, and even more importantly things and places you didn’t know about, but end up jolly glad you found out about. Not only is their knowledge supreme, so are their contacts, so they will set up your excursions as well. You won’t need or want for anything, during your stay here.

It is difficult in a short article to do justice to Hickatee Cottages, and there is a thought that what is now a place to unwind in the middle of a Belize Adventure vacation, that is so much more than a bed and breakfast inn may become unavailable due to popularity. Whilst that would be no more than it deserves, this home from home, place of calm, comfort, and discovery and adventure all in one, would in a perfect world be kept a secret, known only to a trusted few.

Ian and Kate deserve the recognition that they run the best inn in South Belize, if not all Belize, and the custom this deserves. You can be certain they will not allow the atmosphere and ambiance to change at all.

A Nassau Bahamas Vacation may not be your first choice destination when choosing a Bahamas vacation spot because of all the attractions of the more distant Outer Islands, but check out the exquisite A Stone’s Throw Away on New Providence before making any decisions.

Try a Nassau Bahamas Vacation this year, with the incredible name of ‘A Stone’s Throw Away’, appropriately named after its position conveniently five minutes from Nassau Airport, and close to the beach, and all the attractions and highlights of Nassau itself.

Insofar as ‘A Stone’s Throw Away’ itself is concerned, possibly describing it as a hideaway is good, because it is out of the way, perched high up on the coastline it looks like a classic colonial building on three floors, with a high preponderance of wood, and wrap around verandas, giving the impression it has stood here for centuries when in fact it was built this way relatively recently in 2004.

It is a gourmet bed and breakfast inn with accommodation for twenty guests in 8 rooms, and 2 suites. Children have no special facilities and extra beds cannot be added to the rooms. In fact the peace and quiet which is a speciality of the house could well be disturbed by children, which is why they are not encouraged.

Each room has a King sized bed, private bathroom, air conditioning, a mini bar, Cable TV, DVD, and free broadband internet, plus a mini bar. They all have direct access to the large wrap around the property porch. The Garden View Rooms are on the ground floor, and the Islands View Rooms are on the second and third floor, and the Ocean View Rooms open up to the largest part of the Veranda on the ocean side of the house where there are day beds and loungers, but be aware that other guests can walk by as the veranda isn’t screened off anywhere.

At an average price of USD225 ‘A Stone’s Throw Away’ isn’t expensive, and gives jolly good value for money. The gourmet kitchen is a well known feature of the property, and the breakfasts certainly live up to this. You can also order lunch from a menu posted on the board, and eat between noon and two o’clock. You eat on the porch on the ocean side of the house, or indoors in a lovely manorial style dining room, where you could almost be in England such is the style of the room, and the breakfast as well.

In the evening the lounge on the main porch is the relaxation point, a bar is set up here and if you want to dine, then just ask, and it could be prepared for you next to the small waterfall pool in the tropical garden side of the house. One of the great things about ‘A Stone’s Throw Away’ is that there is always a cool breeze.

There are a number of good beaches within walking distance from the picture postcard white sand of Compass Point to Orange beach with strong surf, or Goodman Bay is a beach with rest rooms and facilities. A Car would be useful but the local buses, or a taxi will do you just as well, as particularly the buses cost $1 and a regular, plus the fact you are then part of the community and that will add to your overall experience of the Bahamas.

You can definitely have a great Nassau Bahamas vacation at ‘A Stone’s Throw Away’ from the gourmet cuisine, to the hideaway feeling. This is a lot more than just a bed and breakfast inn it is an experience to be treasured.

Want to visit Grand Bahama, but a tight budget? Starting get tired of listening to all the exotic adventure vacation? Are you ready to have your own Grand Bahamas vacation for less than they spend?

Grand Bahama Island in the Bahamas are fifty-five miles south of Miami. Environmental Interestingly, with emerald-green water, fascinating marine life, charming fishing villages, and endless beaches are just some of the exciting attractions that make it an ideal place for quality recreation. But just thinking spend ideal vacation in the Bahamas makes you think that you have to spend a fortune just to get there. But there is way for you that the perfect vacation and spend less than luck. It is either to save money before getting there, or your savings to come as soon as you arrive at your selected spot in the Grand Bahamas.

All you need to do is plan the places you want to go, activities to do, hotels you want to stay on, and the type of flight to Grand Bahamas you want to have. When planning your vacation, take a look at websites on the Internet that offer great deals on Grand Bahamas vacation packages. Simply by comparing each of the sites and holiday packages prices for them may give you options for package holidays for their needs at an affordable price.

Knowing what you want, what you need and what you want to experience can help. Getting information on the island can also help in identifying the places you want to go, and what activities are taking place at these locations. To search the Internet, you can also find that you can dream of that vacation prices to eighty percent less than what your friends expenses.

You can also refer to the resource directory sites. They offer information for major vacation leave, such as the Grand Bahamas. Most web sites offer great deals on Bahamas vacation packages, and they contain information on Bahamas vacation properties for rent, as homes and buildings, romantic island vacation, and the Grand Prize Bahamas vacation condominium rentals.

Some vast resources that are available in the business directory, an inter-island guide, which covers not only the Grand Bahamas, but the entire island Bahamas and travel advisories on hotels, Bahaman activities breathtaking beaches, restaurants, and options for your budget. If you want your trip to the Grand Bahamas to be accessible, most travel consolidators recommend well-known places as the Grand Bahamas various airlines and charter planes to serve them, and the millions of tourists to go to these places every year. Travel companies compete for customers, which drives down the costs of almost everything from flight packages, hotel accommodation and tour packages.

Planning your holiday at the right place at the right time can help you achieve that in the rest of life. You can see what is to come for their dream vacation in the Great Bahamas without worry spend a fortune.

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A Bahamas Vacation has always sounded like paradise on earth, but did you know that when you travel to the Bahamas you aren’t just going to one island, but many.

Travelling from one end of the Bahamas to the other, not only are there the well known islands like Grand Bahama, The Abacos, Eleuthera, and Exuma, but the Bahamas is in fact a country of 700 islands, of which 23 are inhabited but there are many many unpopulated islets and cays.

The differences to be found between different islands is also extreme, when you take cosmopolitan Nassau and compare it to the desert like Inagua. As you can imagine being only fifty miles off the Florida Coast, the Bahamas are very much an American playground, indeed on a lot of the islands the tiny villages could almost be the same as ones found on the coast of Massachusetts, only the palms, and sands are different.

A Bahamas Vacation has long been popular with sailors because the sea is calm, there are cooling tradewinds and this is the home of the Gulf Stream which makes the climate so pleasant. The Gulf Stream also is the reason that there are so many large fish, and a general abundance of marine life, so a lot of people travel to the Bahamas for a vacation just for the sport fishing.

No vacation in the Bahamas would be complete without spending time either snorkelling or scuba diving. The Gulf Stream is again responsible for the sheer underwater delights, the spectacular shoals of fish which congregate around the reefs, which are over 5% of the total number of coral reefs in the world. You will never tire of this underwater technicolour fantasy world in the Bahamas.

Probably more people take a Bahamas Vacation because of the beauty of the beaches than anything else and no Bahamas trip would be complete without a visit to the pink sands of Harbour Island and Eleuthera.

Having said that there are more beaches in the Bahamas than you could ever visit in your entire life, but you should take the time to go to the Exumas and San Salvador where you will almost be alone on their beautiful beaches.

After you are sated by the beautiful beaches and everything the sea has to offer you on your Bahamas Vacation, why not go ashore and just enjoy the sheer spellbinding beauty of the Bahamas Islands. You can fly from island to island or just take a flight to see the amazing sight of the white sand, green islands, coral keys, turquoise sea, lovely little villages, all totally unforgettable.

On the ground why not hire a bicycle and explore, then of course there are the masses of other things to do on dry land. Your vacation in the Bahamas could consist of staying in one of the many world class properties and hotels that dot the islands, playing tennis, golf on beautiful championship courses.

Shoppin g is another delight on your vacation to the Bahamas in one of the island’s shopping arcades. If you like to gamble then there are casinos, but then again there really is nothing like sitting on a pink sand beach with a good book, a cool drink, surrounded by your family.

A Bahamas Vacation can bring you close to paradise on earth.

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