I was having dinner with a good friend of mine on our deck in the North Carolina mountains the other day – I could see about 50 miles out and there were numerous mountain ranges in the distance. 

I asked my friend if he had ever thought why beach real estate has appreciated over the years more than mountain real estate.  I decided that this was because there are a lot more mountains than there are beaches.

It all goes back to supply and demand.  The reason beach oriented real estate has traditionally done better than other real estate is because you have a limited amount of supply.  This would also be true for riverfront property, and to some degree, property on large lakes.

Now is a great time to purchase property at the beach – prices are off because of the economy, but supply is constant.  The closer to the beach, the better off you are.