The Spatial Distribution of Second Homes: A Modified Gravity Model

Abstract

Vacation home developments impose benefits and costs on the residents of the area in which the development is located. In an effort to provide more information about the location decisionmaking process for individual vacation home owners, a gravity model is developed and empirically tested which identifies those factors which influence that decision-making process. The traditional gravity model is modified to accommodate the unique character of this decision-making process which is, in fact, a distance-based choice model. The primary factors explaining the relative concentration of vacation homes are the population potential, which measures the potential demand, and the availability of actual or potential water oriented recreation facilities. In addition, this model provides evidence that when the gravity model is adequately specified, one can expect to obtain satisfactory statistical results.