Big Sky, Montana ranks at the top of best places to buy a winter vacation home based upon on the annual rate of return on investment. The ranking and data comes from Vacasa, a vacation rental platform,  that annually releases the report “Best Places to Buy a Winter Vacation Home.”

Big Sky, Montana was given a “cap rate” of 9.2% with the median cost of a home at $541,842.

“The spotlight cast on professionally managed vacation homes over the past year not only resulted in an increase in bookings throughout the majority of our portfolio, but also in short term rental buyer interest,” said Shaun Greer, VP of Sales and Marketing for Vacasa. “

According to the recent data from the National Association of Realtors, second home sales soared in 2020 and were up by as much as 44 percent*.

Vacasa’s list of top winter markets includes destinations across the country that are within three to six hours of major metro markets, which aligns with Vacasa’s 2020 data that revealed travelers are hitting the road, but staying closer to home.  

The second ranking winter escape in terms of return on investment was the Poconos, PA, which had a cap rate of 6.5 percent, followed by Conway, New Hampshire with a cap rate of 6.2 percent. Median prices for the two locations are $200,190 and $238,930. Vail, Breckenridge, Steamboat Springs and Granby, Colorado also made the list.