Upmarket getaways for super-wealthy

From mountains to coasts, demand grows for ritzy vacation homes

Slideshow

Sand castles
Open House: A look at some properties for sale around the country with an ocean view.

Latest interest rates

See today's average mortgage rates across the country.

Loan type	Today	+/-	Last week
30-year fixed	5.20%		5.07%
15-year fixed	4.65%		4.47%
30-year fixed jumbo	5.97%		5.90%
5/1 ARM	4.28%		4.32%
7/1 ARM	4.49%		4.63%

Source: Bankrate.com | View rates in your area

See today's average home equity rates across the country.

Loan type	Today	+/-	Last week
$30K HELOC	5.16%		5.19%
$30K home equity loan	8.37%		8.37%
$75K home equity loan	8.30%		8.29%
$50K home equity loan	8.27%		8.26%
$50K HELOC	4.90%		4.92%

Source: Bankrate.com | View rates in your area

See today's savings rates across the country.

Savings type	Today	+/-	Last week
Money market	.87%		.85%
$10K money market	.93%		.93%
Six-month CD	1.02%		1.04%
One-year CD	1.44%		1.45%
Five-year CD	2.55%		2.48%

Source: Bankrate.com | View rates in your area

See today's average auto rates across the country.

Loan type	Today	+/-	Last week
48-month new car loan	6.84%		6.81%
36-month used car loan	7.17%		7.17%
36-month new car loan	6.71%		6.70%
60-month new car loan	6.88%		6.85%
72-month new car loan	6.12%		6.12%

Source: Bankrate.com | View rates in your area

See today's average credit card rates across the country.

Card type	Fixed	Variable
Standard	13.47%	11.48%
Gold	12.13%	9.90%
Platinum	11.46%	12.21%
All	12.43%	11.68%

Source: Bankrate.com | View more rates

Interactive

Foreclosure rates by state
Foreclosure rates tend to be highest in four key states. Click to see the progression for every state since 2005.

CNBC

updated 3:06 p.m. ET July 18, 2005

In today’s red-hot real estate boom, the business of second homes — not investment properties, but vacation homes for the wealthy — is one of the fastest-growing segments.

Thanks to a strong appreciation in the value of their primary homes and a reluctance to invest in stocks, a growing number of boomers are investing their money in second homes as places to vacation and eventually retire.

From La Jolla, Calif., to Hilton Head Island, S.C., CNBC’s reporters fanned out to find the most amazing second homes just waiting for a buyer, in some cases with a few million to spare.

Story continues below ↓

advertisement | your ad here

In Aspen, Colo., for example, multimillion-dollar homes are not going up fast enough to meet demand, while earlier this year rumors of a record $90 million home sale rocked the fashionable Hamptons area of Long Island, one of the nation’s fabled summer haunts. And on Hilton Head Island, S.C., even the elite are balking at a $14 million price tag for a second home that recently appeared on the market.

Click on the link below for a gallery of ritzy second homes.

Click for related content

CNBC: Video gallery of top-notch second homes