Impact of second homes being felt
Just-released economic data shows for the first time the impact of second-home owners on Haywood County’s economy.
The figures, compiled as part of a Waynesville and Canton marketing study, paint a staggering portrait of second homes’ impact. In all, said consultant Aaron Arnett, who is analyzing the data, second homes represent nearly $1 billion in accumulated taxable market value and are a significant factor in the makeup of many county neighborhoods, especially areas like the town of Waynesville, where Arnett found homes owned by out-of-state residents totally nearly 10 percent of all housing and had an average value of more than $353,000.
In other areas, like Ivy Hill, nearly one in four homes are considered second homes. There, the average value of the homes is about $214,000.
Arnett said he used computers to scan the county tax rolls and determine which properties were owned by out-of-state residents and which properties had homes on them.
The research comes as Arnett analyzes marketing data collected from businesses in Waynesville and Canton during two one-week periods this summer. Shoppers were asked what zip code they lived in and if they were tourists or second home owners. The data is being used to formulate a marketing plan for Waynesville and Canton. The plans will include information useful to businesses that may want to locate here and suggest marketing logos and advertising-ready slogans as well as tips on what the towns need to do to best capture marketing dollars. Tips could include items such as needed parking or proper signage.
The vast majority of second home owners, the study found, came from urban Florida — specifically Jacksonville, Tampa, Orlando, Sarasota, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, St. Petersburg and Lakeland.
Also figuring high in second home ownership were residents who listed their permanent residences as Charlotte and Columbia.
In Haywood County, 45 percent of home owners were from Florida. That figure rose to 60 percent in Waynesville and 64 percent in Canton, though the actual numbers of second home owners who had homes in Canton were much smaller that those in Waynesville.
About one-third of second home owners have their homes in zip code 28786. About 17 percent are in Maggie and about 11 percent are in the 28785 zip code.
Arnett said the second home market can at times be difficult to define. For example, there are distinct spending pattern differences between “vacation” home owners — who might come to the mountains a weekend or two each month — and “second” home owners, who live in the mountains for several months at a stretch. Vacation home owners spend in patterns akin to tourists, whereas second home owners spend in patterns more like a local — albeit a well-heeled local.
The study also showed where Haywood County is “leaking” consumer dollars — where locals are spending money outside of their living area.
Based on his data, Arnett said Waynesville is most in need of furniture, electronic, apparel, shoes and sporting goods outlets. Canton, meanwhile, could use health and personal care, general merchandising, apparel and furniture stores.
Meanwhile, Arnett said, the construction and service industries will continue to be the leading sectors of the local market.
Those forces, he added, will become more pronounced as the county continues to be marketed as a destination for second home buyers, and as the traditional seasonal variations which have marked the local home buying and home building market are gradually eliminated.
That trend has been shown by reports from real estate agents who say winter is now the top time of the year for second home purchasing. Furthermore, real estate agents report that many second home residents eventually decide to move out of Florida and urban areas and relocate to Haywood County permanently.
“Obviously,” Arnett said, “the second home market is a significant one for Haywood County.”
And the $1 billion dollar worth of second homes?
“That,” he said, “is even more a tale of the significance of this market.”
