Barron's: Lovely Homes At Higher Prices

• The cover story in this weekend's Barron's features the best luxury second home resort markets in the United States.


• The communities that topped the list this year include ones in Texas, Wisconsin and Utah.


• Other featured articles include a look at how to buy Bill Ackman and Dan Loeb on the cheap.

Luxury second home prices were up 11 percent in 2015 in the 20 best luxury resorts across the nation, according to this week's cover story in Barron's. The list of the best second home resorts was topped by Austin, Texas, and Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

"Luxury Second-Home Prices Up 11% in 2015" by Richard C. Morais and David Schutt suggests that last year was a good one for the luxury second home market, as buyers felt the pressure to close real estate deals while money was still cheap. In Austin, which topped this year's list, a softening luxury housing market offers a buying opportunity, says this Barron's Penta article. The long-moribund market in Lake Geneva suddenly has turned lively, and the number three spot, Park City, Utah, looks to benefit from a major investment by Colorado-based ski resort operator Vail Resorts.

"Unlike many second-home retreats on our list, Austin and its brushy environs has a bright economic future, thanks to the information-technology industry that sprang up around Michael Dell," says the article. See why else Austin tops the list, as well as which community ranked the best last year sank to rival Palm Beach for the bottom of the list this time around.

Barron's research partner is RealtyTrac, and the survey tracked single-family houses worth $1 million or more in ZIP codes with a high percentage of second-home residences. The 20 resorts were ranked according to Barron's judgment of their livability and value.

The article includes links to slide shows of the top 20 luxury second home markets for both 2015 and 2016, as well as profiles of those markets, complete with prices and local-market intelligence, and a video that takes a look at the buyers' market in the Hamptons.

See also: Barron's Picks And Pans: Interpublic, Zimmer Biomet And More

Other Feature Stories

Check out the article on alternative investments to find out how to buy Bill Ackman and Dan Loeb on the cheap. The closed-end funds run by these hedge fund pros trade at a discount to net asset value, Barron's points out, and they offer a backdoor way to invest in hedge funds. That gives investors access the acumen of these pros cheaply. Other options include reinsurance companies from Loeb and David Einhorn.

Furthermore, see what Barron's feels are the prospects for Interpublic Group of Companies Inc IPG due to its successful melding of traditional and digital advertising, Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc ZBH as it trades at a steep discount to its peers, as well as two stocks worth a wager: Real Industry Inc RELY and International Game Technology Ordinary Shares IGT.

At the time of this writing, the author had no position in the mentioned equities.

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