Residential airpark living takes off
By Jay MacDonald • Bankrate.com

Just as birds of a feather fly together, pilots of all sorts flock to residential airparks, a growing real estate niche that is surprisingly affordable and an airtight investment in today's turbulent housing market.

What's a residential airpark? First, imagine a golf course community. Now, replace the golf course with a grass or paved runway or two.

Add taxiways that lead to hangars or tie-downs at each residence, and you've got an airpark community. And leave the golf carts; they're the preferred mode of transportation in these high-flying 'hoods.

According to David Sclair, co-founder of LivingWithYourPlane.com, or LWYP, which tracks residential airparks, there are more than 600 airpark communities in the United States today. The heaviest concentrations are in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Texas and Washington state.

If you're aware of airparks at all, it's probably due to pilot and actor John Travolta, who made headlines when he moved into the exclusive Jumbolair Airpark near Ocala, Fla. Jumbolair Airpark is one of the few airparks with a runway long enough to accommodate Travolta's custom Boeing 707.

7 things to consider before buying

Thinking of buying a home in a residential airport? Sclair offers these factors to consider: • Codes, covenants and restrictions. Airparks usually have codes, covenants and restrictions, or CC&R. Does the airpark prohibit your aircraft? Some communities do not allow helicopters, ultralights, amphibians, jets or turboprops, for instance. In some cases, the runway may not be long enough to accommodate your plane. Also, make sure that the interests of pilots are specifically protected in the governing documents. • Stability. How many years has the community existed? How many lots have been sold? How many lots have houses built on them? One sign of a struggling development is if a community is more than 2 years old and has 20 lots -- but only two have been built on. • Noise ordinances. Most single-engine and twin-engine aircraft fall well within the decibel limit of most noise ordinances. Make sure your airplane won't prove the exception. • Reputation. Does the airpark have a history of conflict with adjacent neighborhoods over noise or other issues? • Amenities. What amenities does the airpark offer? What are the fees and what do they cover? • Services. How close are the services you need, such as shopping, schools, hospitals, repair shops, etc.? • Growth path. Will development on adjoining lands soon cause congestion? Could planned projects -- such as hospitals and schools near the runway approaches -- ultimately lead to community pressure to close the airstrip?

But you don't have to be rich and famous to live on an airpark.

Airpark home prices run the gamut, from less than $100,000 to several million dollars. In a February 2007 survey of airpark residents by LWYP, almost one-quarter (24 percent) reported home valuation of more than $500,000, slightly more than one-quarter (26 percent) fell between $350,000 and $500,000; 18 percent reported valuation between $275,000 and $350,000, nearly a quarter (24 percent) lived in homes valued below $275,000, and 8 percent reported home valuation at under $100,000.

More good news: Appreciation tends to soar in residential airparks.

"They appreciate better than homes in a normal subdivision," says Sclair. "Our surveys have shown that residential airpark homes sell at an increase of 10 (percent) to 20 percent above what like properties in a non-airpark community would sell for."