Looking for miles across tree-covered mountains and valleys. Heading up the slopes for a bracing day of skiing. Buyers who have long entertained dreams of finding that ideal New England vacation home are discovering some great opportunities in today’s market.

In its annual Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) found this spring that condominiums have become an increasingly important part of the vacation-home mix, rising from 21 percent to 29 percent of sales over the past year. And while purchases by investment buyers dropped by 28 percent over the past year, vacation-home purchaseshave increased by nearly 5 percent, the NAR said. In a scenario repeated from the Maine seacoast to the Berkshire mountains, vacation homes continue to lure buyers chasing their getaway dreams.

James Fitzgerald Jr. of Coldwell Residential Brokerage in Kennebunk, Maine, said that while the subprime problem has hit the overall real estate market, and getting financing can still be a challenge for some buyers, vacation home sales are holding their own.

The mortgage problem has primarily affected investor-buyers and investor-focused properties such as condos that are rental-oriented and regulate length of stays. But for the true second-home market, loosening restrictions by the federal loan programs, Fannie Mae andFreddie Mac, seem to be permitting more people to qualify for loans, Fitzgerald said.

At the same time, he added, “Baby boomers are the largest population buying second homes, and a lot of them are buying with cash. They have money from investments, and they’re not afraid to use it. Right now, only seven percent of baby boomers own vacation homes. The market is shifting as these empty-nesters think about bringing the family back together and look at resort areas as a means to that end. When you have a place that’s attractive enough— when you buy a place in Kennebunkport— everyone wants to visit.”

In keeping with the NAR report, Fitzgerald has seen a rise in the number of buyers opting for condominiums. “People who are buying vacation homes want ‘easy living’ and are looking at condos to achieve that,” Fitzgerald said.

Because they’re looking for second homes, rather than primary residences, buyers aren’t fettered by practical considerations like commuting distance to work. More important, he noted, is finding a retreat within a two- to four-hour drive of their primary homein order to take full advantage of weekends. “Travel time is critical for vacationers,” he said. “The southern, coastal and mountain areas of Maine are the strongest in this market.”

The vacation home market, he noted, is clearly linked to the region’s tourism. Many of the families buying second homes in southern Maine, he said, have visited the area seven to 10 times before deciding to buy a vacation home of their own. “Our mainstay is in the $300,000 to $600,000 range,” he said, “but we have a lot of people looking in the high end, the $1million to $5 million range, coming from all over the country.”

That Special Touch

In looking at vacation homes, buyers are longing for something special. Away from the daily bustle, they wantproximity to geographical features and activities that fit their lifestyles.

On Cape Cod, of course, that piece of magic is the ocean. And, said DougAzarian, on the Cape you’re never far from water. That fact has helped the Massachusetts vacation mecca retain its attraction to second-home buyers.

“The market is chugging along,” said Azarian, broker-owner of Century21 Dream Homes in Falmouth, Massachusetts. Despite the economic woes facing some parts of the country, vacation areas like Cape Cod still have interested buyers. “We’re not seeing the significant downward spike that a lot of areas have experienced.

“I think there’s a lot of pent-up demand out there,” he said. “Those buyers who are fortunate enough to be able to take advantage of today’s market are looking at second homes, at places to retire now or in a few years. The average age of Cape Cod residents is higher than anywhere else in the state,” he noted, and the allure of no-maintenance condominium living is especially attractive to those buyers.

“A lot of people who are coming to the Cape to retire or purchase a second home are in their highest earning years, or they are retiring and are taking their property assets and moving to Cape Cod. We’re fortunate to have people from all over the state, New England and New York who want to come to Cape Cod — unlike non-resort areas, where you’re going to have people looking for jobs and their primary residence.” Vacation home sales, he added, are being bolstered by low mortgage interest rates. And as the market in general has slowed, development of new properties has also dropped off. That quieting of the building boom has helped balance the inventory level of properties, and prices, though a bit lower than in the past, have not been volatile on the Cape.

By the Sea

The New Hampshire seacoast enjoys the ocean allure, too, and a lack of buildable land helped the Portsmouth area avoid the construction boom of recent years, said Shannon Aldrich, whose blogs on realestateseacoast.com offer tips for buyers and sellers.

“Looking at the coastal market including Seabrook, Hampton, North Hampton and Rye, I would have to say that Hampton has the hottest market right now. Units with ocean and marsh views abound in Hampton,” Aldrich, of Keller WilliamsCoastal Realty in Portsmouth, said. A variety of units, coupled with the great beaches and boardwalk area, makes Hampton ideal for vacation condo owners who may want to rent out their units when not in use, she added.

The early-June inventory remained stable from 2007 to 2008, with prices ranging from $79,000 to $2.2 million, and units are selling at about 95 percent of asking price. “For sellers, the good news is that we are averaging six months marketing time — that means we are in a stable/normal market,” shesaid. “New Hampshire's coastline is holding its value, no matter what you may have heard about the so-called ‘national market’.”

There’s More to See than the Sea

While seacoast areas are popular among second-home buyers, sales are holding their own, too, in Vermont’s popular Queechee Lakes region. ShaneVahey, owner of Vermont Real Estate Advisors and New England Real Estate Advisors, said the Queechee resort area continues to attract a broad range of buyers, from families to retirees. On average, he said, the owners of these vacation condos use them two to three months a year. “They’re coming here from Fairfield County in Connecticut, Westchester County in New York and the greater Boston area,” he said. “It’s only 4 1/2 hours from New York City, so people can come up here for the weekend.”

“When you talk $400,000-plus,” said Vahey, “people who might be looking at three- or four-bedroom condos are also looking at four-bedroom single family homes. But under $400,000, there’s still a strong condominium market.”

The continued strength of the vacation home property is interesting, he noted, because, after all, “nobody really needs a second home.”

Today, a 900-square-foot, two-bedroom, one bath townhouse-style condo located a seven-minute drive to a golf course clubhouse may fetch $90,000 to $100,000. Staying under the magic $400,000 figure, a buyer can land a three-bedroom, two and a half bath condo around the lake or near the clubhouse in the center of the 5,200-acre Queechee Lakes resort.

A New Approach

The upswing in interest in condominium resort living was not lost on Carol and Ed Drummond. Last year, they launched a major renovation of a venerable Berkshires resort property into the area’s first condominium-motel. The historic Whitcomb Summit Motel in Florida, Massachusetts, is being transformed into the Whitcomb Summit Resort, with 50 condominiumunits and an Irish pub.

The condos — a mix of former motel rooms and cabins— are not large or lavish by city standards, but the property offers a breathtaking 100-mile view of four states.

With virtually no advertising, about half of the units in the hotel and several of the cabins-turned-condos have been reserved since the project began last November. “People are looking to get away from the city,” Carol Drummond said. With prices ranging from $54,995 for the motel units — which run from 264 square feet to about 500 square feet — to $119,995 for the more spacious cabins, the resort units are finding eager buyers, she said.

There has been a lodge on WhitcombSummit since 1914, when the automobile helped boost the popularity of the Mohawk Trail, making the renovated resort a homecoming for many visitors.

The Berkshires continue to be a popular vacation spot, and Drummond said the concept of a condominium-motel seems to have caught the imagination of people looking for a convenient getaway. In the past, the resort was only open from May to October, but Drummond says there’s plenty of opportunity for owners to enjoy the property year-round. “We’re 15 minutes from skiing at Berkshire East, and there are trails here for snowmobiling and cross country skiing in the winter.” Fall, of course, is leaf-peeping season, and in the summer, the Berkshires offer a cool escape for urban dwellers. “We have some local people buying — from North Adams and Greenfield, for example — but there’s a lot of interest from New York, Connecticut and Boston. We’re seeing people who wanta second home, but don’t want to worry about maintenance.

“And,” she added, “there are some who are looking at this as an investment.”

Owners are free to use the condos when they want, and the management will handle rentals if owners are looking for income from the units. “We’re reallyexcited,” Drummond said. “Even with the economy the way it is, and the real estate market in general being down, we’ve had a good response.”

Beyond the Borders

With the softening of the U.S. dollar, vacation-home sellers have noticed an upswing in interest from outside the country, too. With the current currency situation, American properties look like bargains to buyersfrom Europe and Asia.

According to the NAR, foreign buyers spend an average of 4.2 months a year at their U.S. properties, and plan to use the property as a vacation spot for their family and friends. The top three state destinations for foreign buyers, according to the NAR report, are Florida, California and Texas – butsome are eyeing New England, too.

“There are many more foreigners looking, and buying, on Cape Cod than in the past. The whole economic environment is very rewarding to those coming from overseas. We see many people coming from England, Ireland, Western Europe. We just soldto someone from the Netherlands,” said Azarian. “We’ve sold to Russians, as well. There seems to be a growing population of Russians coming to the Cape.”

Wherever they’re coming from, at home or abroad, buyers are finding in the current market an opportunity to make their vacation home dreams come true.