Six members of ULI’s Recreational Development Council discuss what is affecting their market, including the prospects for the resort and vacation home industry in an uncertain economy, the mind-set of potential buyers, the changing nature of second-home products, and strategies for navigating the challenges ahead.

By 2050, aging baby boomers are expected to swell the population of Americans 65 and older to 89 million—a surge that will require more than just an increase in the capacity of housing for seniors.

Vietnam has arrived on the international property development market in a big way—and brought with it a strikingly international style. But uncertainties linger about the future.

With residential real estate in the doldrums for the past few years, homebuilding companies are looking for different areas for growth. As such, firms like Toll Brothers and Lennar Corporation are pursuing opportunities that have synergies with, but may fall outside of, their core homebuilding operations—for example, golf and country clubs. Learn what homebuilders should know before branching out.

Hong Kong–based Swire Properties is planning Brickell CitiCentre (BCC), a nine-acre (3.6-ha) mixed-use development in the heart of Miami’s Brickell Financial District. And in May, Genting Malaysia Bhd announced plans to build Resorts World Miami after buying a 13.9-acre (5.6-ha) piece of land. Read how downtown Miami’s fast-growing residential population has made these projects possible.

After two years of tough times, America’s second-home market is showing signs of life in select markets, thanks to increasing confidence in the economy, targeted marketing of properties to select segments, and a desire by many baby boomers to get on with their lives, say industry insiders. Read what advice they are giving to developers and entrepreneurs who want to enter this reviving market.

Resort communities and hotels have suffered the blows of the recession and are beginning to see the light of day. A panel of developers at ULI’s 2011 Spring Council Forum in Phoenix discussed just how this sector is faring and where the opportunities lie now. Read to what degree the panelists think the resort sector is emerging from the recession.

More than 1 million senior citizens typically move every year to a new locale to spend their golden years. So what are the most popular retirement destinations? The American City Business Journals, which publishes Business Journal newspapers in many major metros, recently used a six-part formula to rank the most popular places for retirees. Read the resulting list of top 10 destinations for seniors.

“The market is better now than it’s been for several years,” says Jon Wilson, chair of the ULI Triangle Council. “We’re starting to see seeds of change,” says Wilson. “The Carolina coastal area is traditionally a second home market. There was a lot of product in the pipeline, including some that had been stalled because of financial problems.” Read about the growth and predicted growth in the second home, and other, markets.

How are resort operators and developers rethinking the world of leisure? Who will be buying second homes in the coming years? What impacts will changing consumer behaviors, demographic, new technologies, and a recovering economy have on future resort projects? When moderator Toni Alexander, president and creative director of Newport Beach, California–based InterCommunications, Inc., asked five industry experts to respond to these questions at a session, the result was a lively and insightful discussion.