Vacation home prices have skyrocketed in recent years, causing home sales to fall.
According to a report from the National Association of Realtors, vacation home sales declined by 18.5% between 2014 and 2015.
Buying a second home by the beach has become impossible for many Americans, including millennials and others who can barely afford to buy their first homes.
But not all beach towns are expensive. In some places, the median home value falls below $120,000.
For anyone interested in owning a first or second home by the beach, we took a look at the country’s most affordable beach towns.
Study specifics
To find the most affordable beach towns in America, SmartAsset collected Census Bureau data on 221 different coastal cities. We used the same four factors that we considered in the 2016 edition of our study: the median home value, the median amount of annual property taxes paid, the median annual amount of housing costs paid and the median number of rooms per house. For more information about how we conducted our study, you can refer to the data and methodology section below.
Key findings
- It's a tie. Both Florida and Mississippi have four cities that rank among the top 10 most affordable beach towns in America.
- Avoid the West Coast. Based on our analysis, only three of the top 25 most affordable beach towns lie off the coast of the Pacific Ocean: Coos Bay, Oregon; Port Angeles, Washington and Bremerton, Washington.
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1. Gulfport, Mississippi
Gulfport ranks as the No.1 most affordable beach town in America for the second consecutive year. The median home value is just $117,300 and residents spend only $926 on property taxes annually.
Buying a beach house in Gulfport could be worth considering, especially if you’re ready to leave the workplace. The city has golf courses, casinos and a number of bars and restaurants. Plus, Mississippi ranks as one of the best states for an early retirement.
2. Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola takes the No. 2 spot on our list in the 2016 and 2017 editions of our study. The average homeowner in Pensacola can expect to spend around $1,081 on property taxes. Total housing costs for the typical resident add up to $10,164.
Aside from being a beach town, Pensacola is home to the National Naval Aviation Museum, a couple of amusement parks and several different parks. Local residents also get to enjoy free shows put on by the Navy’s Blue Angels twice a year.
3. (TIE) Biloxi, Mississippi
Biloxi is known for its casinos. Some of the most popular ones include the Beau Rivage and the IP Casino. If you find yourself traveling to Biloxi often, why not buy a beach house in the area? A typical resident may spend about $9,444 on housing costs, including mortgage payments, utilities and homeowners insurance. Compared to housing costs in other beach towns, that’s relatively low.
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