1250 ET - U.S. homebuyers took out 4.1% more second-home mortgages in 2025 than a year earlier, according to Redfin. That's the first annual increase in four years. By comparison, mortgages for primary homes ticked up 1% year-over-year in 2025 after rising 2% in 2024. Second-home purchases are starting to rebound, and outpace growth in purchases of primary homes. Affluent buyers, who are less constrained by high housing costs and economic uncertainty, drive that market. Vacation-home buyers are wealthier than people purchasing primary homes: 85% of 2025's vacation-home mortgages went to high earners, who had a median income of just under $300,000, according to Redfin. That's compared with a median overall U.S. household income of $88,000. The typical second home was worth $515,000 in 2025, versus $395,000 for primary homes, Redfin says.