Second Coming

If you’re worried about missing the window to purchase a vacation home within easy driving distance of Atlanta, it’s not too late, says Bonneau Ansley, CEO and founder of Ansley Real Estate (ansleyre.com). “Sure, if you had bought pre-pandemic, you would have gotten a better price, but the influx of people moving to second-home communities is not going to stop,” he says. “I think [those communities] have a long way to go in terms of valuation and price.” Prices in Blue Ridge, for example, keep climbing. In 2019 the average sales price was $259,000. In 2020 it was $316,000 and in the first quarter of 2021 the average climbed to $358,000. “This shift for second-home markets has been like nothing I’ve ever seen with inventory,” he says. “It’s hard to say that we have an inventory shortage when we continue to have record prices.” Case in point: After launching successful outposts in the Golden Isles, Blue Ridge, Lake Oconee and others, Ansley has expanded his personal team to include the Florida Panhandle on 30A, closing multiple sales above $5 million in his first few months. The firm’s growth prompted him to drop “Atlanta” from its name to reflect its larger reach.