Surprisingly, with all the moaning and groaning over high gas prices, illegal fence jumpers taking our jobs and a government bent on raising taxes for the golden goose, vacation home sales are shooting through the roof.

Vacation- and investment-home sales both set records in 2005, with the combined total of second home sales accounting for four out of 10 residential transactions, according to the National Association of Realtors. The annual report, based on two surveys, shows that 27.7 percent of all homes purchased in 2005 were for investment and another 12.2 percent were vacation homes. For full story