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Home exchanges open doors to new visitors, affordable vacations

2010-01-19T08:44:00.001-08:00

The process became instantaneous rather than laborious. Since the release of the 2006 movie "The Holiday," in which characters played by Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet trade homes in Los Angeles and England, the trend has gained even more traction.

Melva Brady handed her house keys to people she had never met before. That helped Brady save money on a vacation to New York City's Upper West Side and also brought new visitors to the region.

Brady, who lives in Naples, participates in home exchanges, which involve two parties who temporarily swap homes. It can last a few days or several months, it can include cars and children, beaches or ski resorts - all of which is negotiated beforehand. Brady learned of the concept while vacationing with her husband in Delaware, she says.

Brady is a retired credit manager from a Rochester wholesale plumbing company and spends time working as a literacy volunteer. She and her husband built their three-bedroom home in the Bristol Hills a decade ago. The residence, with its wood-burning fireplace, wrap-around porch and scenic views of rolling hills, gardens, wineries and farmland, has offered a pleasant getaway.

Home exchanges have become increasingly popular in recent years. While the phenomenon started in the 1950s with teachers in the Netherlands looking for other teachers to swap homes for the summer, it did not take off until the Internet gained popularity in the early 1990s. Online tools provided for a new approach to the idea: Someone listing a home no longer had to mail a letter and wait weeks for a reply. The process became instantaneous rather than laborious.

Since the release of the 2006 movie "The Holiday," in which characters played by Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet trade homes in Los Angeles and England, the trend has gained even more traction. Experts now say home exchanges are here to stay.

Edward Kushins, president of HomeExchange.com of Hermosa Beach, Calif., the Web site featured in "The Holiday," says the movie helped to "jump-start awareness."

Another factor encouraging home exchanges is the economic downturn. Kushins says more people are looking for cheaper travel, and trading homes is one solution. Dozens of Web sites like Kushins' assist with home exchanges. Some sites are free, but most require a prospective trader to pay a small membership fee to list a home and upload pictures, offer details and communicate with others.

Daniel Rubin, president of the International Home Exchange Network in Daytona Beach, Fla., says home exchanges offer more than an average hotel stay.

For instance, visitors can have access to a computer, a backyard, toys for children and other household items not found in a hotel, in addition to being part of a neighborhood.

"You don't have to depend on a concierge; you can ask the neighbors," Rubin says.

There are obvious popular areas for home exchanges - California, Florida, New York City, Colorado - but the trend has spread across the nation. Despite Rochester's off-the-beaten-track location, Rubin says, listers can successfully exchange homes with others.

"Be as flexible as possible, both in terms of time and in terms of where you're willing to go. ... Be proactive. Don't wait for somebody to come to you; if you see a listing that you like, e-mail them and see if there's any interest," he says. "The worst that people could do is say, 'I'm sorry, I'm not interested."'

For Helen Bastian, it was a newspaper article published some 25 years ago that sparked her interest in home exchanges. She never pursued an exchange at the time but held on to the story for years. Roughly four years ago, Bastian read another article and decided to sign up. Her first exchange was last April, with a family in Mexico.

Bastian's home in the Park East neighborhood is part of an 1895 duplex with two bedrooms, a garden, a porch and a deck. Her home is one of eight listings in the Rochester area on HomeExchange.com. She has found an abundance of people interested in visiting the Rochester area, and she is currently planning her second exchange to visit Belgium and a third to visit Prague.

So far, Bastian has not had to search for anyone when looking to swap her home. "All of them have found me," she says, adding that she has received requests from people in both Paris and Spain.

When she lists her home, Bastian refers to Rochester's art and culture - museums, theaters, festivals, musical events and attractions such as the Rochester International Jazz Festival and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. She also mentions the area's proximity to Toronto and location in the Great Lakes region.

The Mexican family that stayed in her home did not want to leave, Bastian says.

"They stayed here two extra days because they liked it so much," she says.

Like Bastian, Brady also has had little trouble finding exchanges. Her exchanges have been in the United States - one in New York City and another in Florida.

When people inquire about her home, Brady promotes nearby attractions like Canandaigua Lake, Cumming Nature Center and Bristol Mountain and Rochester hot spots like the Strong National Museum of Play.

No matter what time of year, there always is something for visitors to enjoy, Brady says.

"I think the wineries are a big draw. In the fall the colors around here are spectacular. In the winter there's Bristol Mountain skiing," says Brady, who also suggests her guests visit Ontario County Park, which has cross-country skiing, hiking, walking and biking trails.

Home exchanges can offer a less expensive alternative to a hotel stay.

"It's very cost-efficient," Brady says. "There are no hotel bills; you have a kitchen, so you can cook at home. It's really just the cost of the flight"

Exchanges also offer opportunities to meet new people. On Bastian's first exchange visit in Mexico, the neighbors invited her to a cocktail party.

"This doesn't happen in hotels," she says. "Being in a hotel, you're always limited... . Here you're part of the community."

Says Kushins, "It changes your vacation from a tourist vacation to living like a local."

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Top 10 Home Exchange Christmas Destinations - Holiday Like There's No Recession

2010-01-19T08:43:00.005-08:00

LONDON, August 24 /PRNewswire/ --

- With Photo

Smart travellers know that affordable travel anywhere in the world is still possible with home exchange - where two families agree to swap homes for holidays. As more people discover the benefits of home exchange it's now possible to holiday like there's no recession for as little as GBP69.99 a year. The "you stay at my home while I stay at yours" concept means that except for getting there, a winter holiday nearly anywhere in the world doesn't have to cost any more than staying at home.

"A winter home exchange getaway is a great recession-proof way to escape the British winter and exchange everything from homes to cars and boats," says Ed Kushins, President of HomeExchangeNow.co.uk "We have compiled our top ten winter destinations to give people a taste of the fantastic 28,000 properties we offer."

Top 10 Home Exchange Christmas Destinations

1. Scandinavia - 805 properties including a traditional Norwegian house dating back to 1680 with stunning views of lovely Norwegian fjord (Oslo Fjord) with cross country skiing nearby (Listing no: #88699).

2. Australia - 1,591 properties including a gorgeous waterfront home with swimming pool, boat and white sandy beach on the Sunshine Coast (Listing no: #108823).

3. France - 4,442 properties including a beautiful stone wood chalet in a ski-in-ski-out resort in the French Alps - home of the 1992 winter Olympics (Listing no: #101842).

4. USA - 9,432 properties including a beautiful exclusive 7 bed/4 bath property with swimming pool in the New York area (Listing no: #68594).

5. Spain - 1,353 properties including a 6 bed/bath luxury villa with private swimming pool in central Madrid (Listing no: #104392).

6. Canada - 2,008 properties including a lake front home in the Rocky Mountains - home of the greatest outdoor show on earth - the Calgary Stampede! (Listing no: #104336).

7. Italy - 1,241 properties including a luxury apartment in the heart of Rome, minutes from famous piazzas, restaurants, cafés, and 30 minutes from the beach (Listing no: #91398).

8. South America - 378 properties including a large family condominium in Brazil on a beautiful Island, with pool, ocean view and walk to the beach (Listing no: #41786).

9. Netherlands - 846 properties including a traditional Canal house (built 1600, reconstructed 1724) in the heart of Amsterdam with designer roof garden and canal view (Listing No: #87399).

10. Mexico - 349 properties including a lovely family home in Puerto Vallarta with ocean views and surrounded by beautiful jungle scenery and near the beach (Listing no: #107757).

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What You Need to Know About Bartering

2010-01-19T08:43:00.003-08:00

To beat the bum economy, many people are finding creative ways to swap for the stuff they need and want. Craigslist recently reported that bartering activity had jumped more than 80% on the site over the past year. Sites such as BarterQuest.com report a surge in interest, too. BarterQuest, which offers swaps on everything from chef's services to designer coats, drew more than 100,000 visitors just two months after the Web site launched late last year. Online retailer Adorama will quote you a price for your old camera free and cut you a check or offer a credit toward new equipment. You can join a home-swap club, such as International Home Exchange Network, for as little as $40 a year.

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Public offering landscape shows signs of reshaping

2010-01-19T08:43:00.001-08:00

Scott Cutler, NYSE Euronext's head of listings in the Americas, says: "IPO activity in emerging markets is reflective of the growth in those home markets and those home exchanges and that will continue."

Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon, says the impact of regulation on IPO activity in the US has been minimal. "It's certainly very costly for corporations, whether big or small, but there have still been a lot of companies going public since 2002."

David DiPietro, president of the Signal Hill Capital Group, a boutique investment bank, says: "If everything doesn't work like clockwork you find yourself trying to price in the week of the 21st [of December] and that probably becomes a little bit more of a risky proposition. Do you really want to be trying to attract investors' attention around Christmas?"

News analysis ; Traditional leaders in the area are being overtaken by emerging markets, write Samantha Pearson and Robert Cookson

Last week was meant to be America's busiest week for initial public offerings so far this year.

But only half of the companies scheduled to list made it to Wall Street. One Chinese technology company was acquired while three others postponed their offerings, blaming "market conditions".

Of the four companies that did go public, only one, a hotel investment trust, managed to price in the expected range and trade higher.

IPO activity has fallen sharply in the US over the last year, reflecting the difficult economic legacy of the credit crisis. However, the question is also whether the US will ever regain its former dominance, as emerging markets bring an increasing number of companies to market - a trend that some analysts believe could continue.

Since records began in 1995, the US has ranked as the worldwide leader every year for the amount of capital raised through IPOs, with the exception of 2006 when the UK came first.

However, this year, Hong Kong has eclipsed the US for the first time and the UK has not even made it into the list of the top 10, according to data from Dealogic.

Scott Cutler, NYSE Euronext's head of listings in the Americas, says: "IPO activity in emerging markets is reflective of the growth in those home markets and those home exchanges and that will continue."

Meanwhile, China is in third position, after having raised $24.4bn through IPOs so far this year or 63 per cent more than last year. Exchanges in China and Hong Kong have collectively contributed just less than half of the total funds raised through IPOs worldwide this year.

Shanghai and Shenzhen, the mainland's two exchanges, were last month joined by Chi-Next, a new board for start-up companies that has been dubbed China's Nasdaq. Almost all the 28 stocks on the index more than doubled in price on the board's first day of trading, before plunging by the 10 per cent daily limit on the second day.

Beijing has also said it will finally start allowing foreign companies to list in China next year, reflecting its ambitions to open up the country's financial sector and transform Shanghai into an international financial centre.

HSBC, the global bank, is widely tipped to be one of the first foreign groups to list in Shanghai. Earlier this year, Stephen Green, HSBC chairman, said China was the bank's "natural home".

India has also moved up the rankings, taking into account dual listings, as has Brazil, which was boosted in October by the country's largest-ever IPO: the launch of Banco Santander's Brazilian subsidiary.

In spite of the flurry of listings on foreign exchanges, Maria Pinelli, Ernst & Young's Americas director of strategic growth markets, says the percentage of companies listing at home is likely to remain steady at about 90 per cent.

As such, economic growth in the emerging countries will have a direct impact on national IPO activity, she says. "In some of the more developed countries where the stock exchange has been around for more than three decades, most of those industries such as transportation, resources and financial services have already accessed the capitalized markets. They've already been there and done that."

So far this year, most IPOs have been in the industrial sector as state-owned Chinese companies have lined up to go public.

However, not all developing markets have experienced the same growth in IPO activity: IPO activity in Saudi Arabia has also declined.

Ms Pinelli says: "The issue there is the type of company and how long it has been in existence." As the world has emerged from the global crisis, cautious investors have been attracted by IPOs mainly from large companies or from those with a long history and a proven track record, she says.

Although the total amount raised through IPOs globally so far this year is slightly higher compared to the equivalent period last year, there has been a 36 per cent fall in the number of deals.

Regulatory issues have also played a key role in the changing world order. In June, the Chinese government lifted a nine-month IPO ban, prompting a flurry of companies to come to market. On the other hand, burdensome and costly accountancy regulation in the US, primarily through the enactment of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2002, has been blamed for reducing IPO activity.

However, Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon, says the impact of regulation on IPO activity in the US has been minimal. "It's certainly very costly for corporations, whether big or small, but there have still been a lot of companies going public since 2002."

Although the US may not be able to regain its top spot, analysts still expect IPO activity to pick up in the US next year.

Scott Sweet, senior managing partner of IPO Boutique, believes that the recent spate of failed IPOs was due to problems specific to the companies involved rather than a sudden deterioration in market conditions.

He also says there is traditionally a higher number of withdrawn or postponed IPOs toward the end of the year as underwriters rush to get their companies to market.

According to Dealogic, the potential value of IPOs lost through withdrawals in the US is already higher this month than in any other month this year.

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3rd Home; 2006 'The Holiday' Movie Sets Major Trend for 2010 Second Homeowners

2010-01-19T08:42:00.000-08:00

home exchanges are not a new phenomenon, but due to current economic conditions homeowners are now either renting out their properties more frequently and are looking for other alternatives like home exchange.

2010 JAN 8 - (VerticalNews.com) -- Nancy Meyers' romantic comedy The Holiday was released in 2006 starring Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet. It was a story of two women, one living in England, one in Los Angeles, who traded homes via an on-line website, both women looking for adventure and an exciting change in their life. Fast- forward 5 years to 2010, the birth of 3rd Home.

3rd Home is an international second home exchange company, where members have the opportunity to exchange their properties with other second homeowners around the world from Paris to Costa Rica to Miami Beach. 3rd Home is completely unique, because it is fully automated, is simple to use and is a trusted source for homeowners. It also has an accomplished array of some of the most beautiful homes on magnificent beaches, in vibrant cities and on amazing mountains in their portfolio of residences. Unlike in the movie, 3rd Home is not a "direct" exchange company, but features an incredible data base for members to pick and choose where they would like to visit. "During the holidays, many vacation homeowners with beach homes may wish they had a mountain ski property to use; or vacation homeowners in cold wintry places may be dreaming of a villa on a tropical island. Now with 3rd Home any vacation homeowner can have it all, and for a fraction of the cost of renting," said E. Wade Shealy, Jr. Founder of 3rd Home.

Second home exchanges are not a new phenomenon, but due to current economic conditions homeowners are now either renting out their properties more frequently and are looking for other alternatives like home exchange. For example, out of the 52 weeks in a year, a second homeowner often only uses their property 4 weeks, perhaps rent it out another 15, leaving 33 weeks empty. Even if they only trade out only a few weeks, it will still give them the opportunity to take amazing adventurous vacations throughout the world for a fraction of the cost of a regular vacation. Their second home can now not only be a wonderful family retreat, but it can open up doors to places they could only dream about. And today, with the cost of a primary residence, and a second home, most families are not able to spend up to $15,000 a week for a family vacation. Most Americans take an average of 3-4 vacations a year, which can really add up. But, with a membership in an organization like 3rd Home the exchange fee is only $250, making that holiday vacation a lot more affordable.

Currently, it is estimated that there are approximately 10 million people owning second homes in the U.S. alone. So, the 2006 The Holiday movie may have perpetuated the idea of exchanging homes from one continent to another, but in 2010 it's turned into a booming business.

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