Million Dollar Buyer
In Jackson, Wyoming-Idaho, an area joined by the two counties across the state line, one in five homes cost $1 million or more. Wealth is further concentrated in Teton Village -- an enclave at the foot of the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort -- where an average income of $515,000 placed it on Bloomberg’s Richest Zip Code list.
While mountain resorts took the top five places on the Bloomberg index, popular beach locations claimed three of the next five spots.
Key West, Florida is the top ranked beach haven on the list. The next highest ranked seaside resort areas are Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts and Kapaa, Hawaii, otherwise known as Martha’s Vineyard and Kauai Island, respectively.
The median home value was highest in Vineyard Haven at $674,000, with 60 percent of properties there considered vacation homes. Chilmark, a tony town 16 minutes away from the region’s airport, boasts median home values of more than $1 million, according to current listings on the e-commerce real estate site Zillow.com.
Lake Houses and Other Areas
Nine areas in the Great Lakes region made the overall list, including Traverse City, Michigan at No. 20. It follows Easton, Maryland, on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay, where many wealthy residents from Washington and Baltimore -- about an hour and a half drive away -- own property.
A landlocked area in Texas grabbed the 51st spot on the list. What makes Mineral Wells, Texas in Palo Pinto County popular is access to Possum Kingdom Lake and its state park. Many home buyers in the area are looking for a second or third vacation home with 70 percent of vacant units categorized for seasonal and recreational use. Real estate in the area has boomed following a surge in rebuilding in the aftermath of a 2011 wildfire. Another three areas in New Mexico and two in Arizona represent the southwest region in the index.
This article provided by Bloomberg News.