Embargoed until July 15
Contact Richard Wells: (540) 989-6138, rwells@leisurepublishing.com
ROANOKE, VA. – The inaugural issue of Coastal Homes Southern Style, a new, upscale bimonthly magazine presenting luxury living along the “Sweet Tea Coast” from Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay to Florida’s Palm Coast, is just off the presses. The glossy, 84-page premier edition offers home-seekers in the booming coastal region a complete guide to the best communities, towns and cities.
Relocating baby-boomers will find intimate insider portraits of some of the region’s best-loved towns, including Charleston, Nags Head and Hilton Head. Plus, prospective homebuyers get all the information they need on stunning new residential communities, including Norfolk, Va.’s East Beach; Southport, N.C.’s St. James Plantation; Bluffton, S.C.’s Hampton Hall; St. Marys, Ga.’s Osprey Cove; and St. Augustine, Fla.’s Palencia.
Coastal Homes supplements its detailed and beautifully photographed stories with a 90-community chart detailing everything from lot- and home-price ranges to information on golf, dining, water amenities and more than a dozen other categories. The communities are in coastal cities and towns ranging from Virginia Beach and Norfolk southward through Wilmington, Myrtle Beach, Charleston, Savannah and on to Amelia Island and the Palm Coast of Florida.
Coastal Homes is the latest periodical of 35-year-old Leisure Publishing of Roanoke, Va, publisher of 18 titles, including Mountain Homes Southern Style, the highly successful four-year-old sister publication to Coastal Homes. Homebuyer demand for the pre-purchase information in Mountain Homes was a prime impetus in the launch of Coastal Homes. Demand for upper-end property, fueled by the 77 million baby boomers now reaching the cusp of retirement, has become a significant phenomenon in U.S. real estate.
“Coastal Homes provides that connection between boomers and the developers of quality coastal communities,” says Richard Wells, publisher and Leisure founder. “While every beach market has its own real estate publications, there was nothing providing potential buyers with an overview of the entire Southeastern coast.” The new title combines luxury lifestyle info with practical nuts-and-bolts relocation details along what the magazine calls the “Sweet Tea Coast,” a.k.a. the Southeastern shore – with the exception of most of Florida, which the publishers do not define as “Southern.”
“Coastal Homes is a relocation guide for those who want to compare living on the Chesapeake Bay with the Palm Coast of northern Florida … to understand the lifestyle considerations between, say, Nags Head and Hilton Head,” Wells says.
Many boomers and those born in the decades just prior have become part of a national trend back toward four seasons, less crowded areas, better proximity to family members and a strong desire to live by the water. These purchasers of retirement, second-home and vacation homes have contributed strongly to the so-called “halfback” phenomenon, undertaken by former residents of the Northeast who migrated to Florida and are now finding new homes halfway between where they came from and Southern Florida. Coastal Homes will serve as their guidebook on the way to finding the perfect residence.
Coastal Homes Editor Marie Hodge, winner of a National Magazine Award and former New York-based editor at Sesame Street Parents and Longevity magazines, notes that another important factor in the purchase of retirement/vacation homes is proximity to current residence.
“Studies of buying trends suggest the majority of buyers want to remain within a three- to four-hour travel time from their primary residence,” she says. “Coastal Homes’ targeted distribution will be focused geographically within four hours of the coast and in key metro markets where air service provides less than four hours’ travel time.”
The first issue of Coastal Homes will appear on select newsstands July 31 as part of a controlled circulation plan. The publisher plans to debut a companion website focused at upscale relocation alternatives in the Southeast.
For more information, call Richard Wells or Marie Hodge at (540) 989-6138. Or visit the magazine’s website at www.coastalhomessouthernstyle.com.
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