The surf meets the sand in the heat of summer. Whether this is the year to buy that beach vacation home or not is another thing. If you’reconsidering the plunge, these are the best 5 beach home bargain cities to buy a foreclosure home or condo.
Foreclosure News Report ranked U.S. metro areas across the nation based on the average discounts on foreclosure purchases, and then examined popular beach cities to determine the top beach towns for foreclosure bargains.
#1- Vero Beach, FL is at the top of the list of best beach locations for buying bargain real estate. Baseball fans may recognize the community for being the former spring training camp of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The quaint 13-square mile beach outpost is on the east coast of Florida, 135 miles north of Miami.
Data compiled by RealtyTrac showed more than 21% of real estate sales in the region were properties in some stage of foreclosure or bank-owned during the first quarter of the year. The average sales price of distressed homes was $93,188 — 45% under average prices for the area.
#2- Corpus Christi, TX — The “Sparkling City by the Sea,” Corpus Christi has plenty of beachfront property for vacation home buyers.
Corpus Christi registered the second highest average foreclosure discount (44%) during the first part of the year in the list of the nation’s top beach communities. But foreclosure sales accounted for only 11% of real estate sales. The sales price for distressed properties, including bank assisted short sales and foreclosures during the first three months of the year averaged $78,851.
#3- Naples-Marco Island, FL ranks third on the list as one of the nation’s oldest, but smallest vacation home communities with a population of just 19,537. Foreclosure sales accounted for 16% of sales in Naples, with an average price for a home of $156,148 — a 40% discount below other homes.
#4- Santa Barbara, CA finds itself listed in the fourth position. West coast surfers find some of the best waves on the coast to enjoy in this high end beach haven, 
which has been devastated by the foreclosure crisis.
Almost half or 47% of residential sales in Santa Barbara were foreclosures during the first part of the year. Foreclosure discount priced properties sold for an average of 38% less than comparable homes not in foreclosure.
#5- Charleston, SC — Five distinct beach towns, Isle of Palms, Sullivan’s Island, Folly Beach, Beachwalker Park, and Seabrook Island make up this historically rich community’s beach front communities. Only 20% of residential sales have been foreclosures as of late, with an average sales price of $159,065, a 34% discount from non-foreclosure properties.