Can't sell or buy: Then maybe swap

A strategy common among vacation-home owners gains traction in stagnant real estate markets

In the midst of the real estate slowdown, the notion of trading houses is gaining traction, and development companies and Web sites are cropping up to facilitate the trend.

It's an idea not entirely new to coastal residents in the Carolinas. Timeshare and second-home owners have traded vacation time at their coastal properties with people who own condos or houses in other tourist destinations. But with the housing market going through a correction, buyers and sellers are taking the idea to a new level.

"The market is causing a lot of people to look at this as an option," said David Moskowitz, creator of DomuSwap. "A lot of people are looking at, 'I can't sell. What's the next best thing?' "

Developers such as Harrison Development in Greenwood, S.C., have been hit by the downturn and are actively marketing exchanges as an alternative to buying property outright.

"Our policy on the trade is: We'll consider almost anything," said Windy Greene, a sales director for two of the company's developments. "That might include an airplane or a motor home or anything that has an established value."

Valeria Young wants to trade a $450,000 condo in Little River, S.C., for property in New York.

Young, who lives on Long Island, bought the condo two years ago at the peak of the housing market as an investment, and now, with no tenants, she's having cash-flow problems.

"We would be better off owning rental property in New York where at least we could rent out the unit and come really close to paying what we owe on it," she said.

She put the property up for sale for a few months but got little response. Then she decided to try for a permanent property swap on Craigslist.

"I've gotten a lot of different interest tradewise, but almost nothing from straight selling," she said.