Upstate New York Hotspots Beacon and the Catskills Draw Celebrities, Influencers, and Winter Home Shoppers

As cold weather settles over the northeastern United States, A-listers, fashion insiders, and social media influencers who call New York City home are increasingly looking northward. Escaping the concrete grid of Manhattan and the surrounding boroughs, these high-profile residents are heading up to Beacon and the majestic Catskills, transforming these scenic upstate towns into the ultimate winter hotspots.

The migration to the north is an annual ritual for some, yet the enduring appeal of these destinations is particularly easy to picture as temperatures drop and the holiday season approaches. Between Beacon’s waterfall-side boutique hotels and the sprawling mountain lodges of the Catskills featuring private soaking tubs and wood-burning fireplaces, the region offers a myriad of compelling reasons for stressed urbanites to leave the city behind for a few days of rustic luxury. For many visitors, a simple weekend away eventually serves as the initial inspiration for something much more permanent, sparking a desire to purchase property in the region.

However, moving from a weekend getaway to a permanent address raises important financial and real estate questions. Prospective buyers frequently wonder what it actually costs to buy a home in these coveted retreats, and how much sustained attention these regions are attracting from broader New York home shoppers amidst changing economic conditions and seasonal real estate trends.

The Stars Heading Upstate

Over the past several years, the Catskills have firmly established themselves as a magnet for Hollywood actors, reality television stars, and prominent influencers looking for quiet vacations, scenic wedding venues, and a peaceful, low-profile place to call home away from the pressures of Los Angeles and New York.

High-profile names frequently frequent the region for rest and recreation. Celebrated actors Olivia Wilde and Rami Malek have both previously stayed at an exclusive mountain lodge located in Hunter, New York, seeking the tranquility of the peaks and crisp mountain air. Meanwhile, the region has also served as a backdrop for high-end celebrity milestones. A-listers including Jennifer Grey, Ali Wentworth, Olivia Rodrigo, and veteran news anchor George Stephanopoulos all traveled to the Catskills region to celebrate the star-studded wedding of Schuyler Fox, the daughter of acclaimed actors Michael J. Fox and Tracy Pollan.

That same bustling summer, popular YouTube star Ethan Dolan and lifestyle influencer Kristina Alice chose the Catskills as the ideal backdrop for their own wedding celebrations. Alice later shared intimate photographs from the romantic weekend on Instagram, giving her millions of followers a vivid glimpse of the picturesque, rustic setting that the region so effortlessly provides.

The fashion and creative crowds have embraced the upstate lifestyle with equal enthusiasm. Vogue editor Naomi Elizée and Anthony Blue Jr. chose a sweeping meadow in Tannersville as the site for their wedding, welcoming guests for a weekend of immersive festivities that celebrated both nature and high style.

For other notable figures, a weekend trip transformed into a lifestyle overhaul. Actress Amanda Seyfried found that the Catskills offered the exact environment she needed to put down permanent roots. The celebrated actress purchased a charming 1930s farm in the region back in 2013 while actively searching for a quiet, grounded retreat away from the demanding pace of Hollywood. Over time, that rural property transitioned from a casual weekend getaway into her primary residence, allowing her to embrace a slower-paced, agricultural lifestyle.

Across the Hudson River, Beacon exerts its own unique gravitational pull on creative urban dwellers. The city draws weekend visitors with its thriving contemporary art scene, eclectic vintage shops, and an exceptionally easy commute from New York City via Metro-North. Model and content creator Bri Scalesse recently documented a characteristic visit to the area that included a trip to the renowned contemporary art museum Dia Beacon alongside extensive vintage shopping—an itinerary that works seamlessly whether executed as a quick day trip or extended into a more leisurely weekend stay.

What It Costs to Buy a Place Upstate

For those inspired by these celebrity retreats to dive into the local housing market, the financial reality varies significantly depending on the specific town and county. According to recent market data compiled by Realtor.com, the median asking price in Beacon stood at $700,000 in September. Moving further north into the mountains, Woodstock—a quintessential town included in the broader Catskills real estate analysis—commanded a noticeably higher median asking price of $968,750.

These specific figures offer clear snapshots of two individual local markets, but they exist within a much broader regional ecosystem. Broader home-search and browsing analyses conducted by real estate researchers encompass all of Dutchess County, where Beacon is situated, alongside five distinct counties that comprise the Catskills region.

According to Realtor.com metrics, the Catskills accounted for 1.17% of all online listing views originating from the New York City metropolitan area during the third quarter of the year, representing an increase from 1.03% during the same period a year earlier. Similarly, Dutchess County’s share of NYC-metro listing views rose from 0.53% to 0.58%. These shifts mean that the Catskills currently captures roughly twice its historical share of online browsing attention from local urban shoppers compared to surrounding regions.

Interestingly, both destinations managed to capture a larger slice of attention despite operating within a generally shrinking pool of overall listing views. Across the board, New York City metro area views of Catskills listings fell by about 28% year over year, while views of Dutchess County listings declined by approximately 31%. At the same time, total NYC-area views across all real estate listings fell even more sharply, dropping by about 37% as broader macroeconomic pressures and seasonal factors influenced the wider housing market.

Even with these shifts, New York City remained by far the largest single source of online listing views for both destinations, even as shoppers from other geographic areas began accounting for a slightly larger portion of the overall audience. NYC-metro shoppers generated 37.5% of all Catskills listing views, which was down from 42.3% recorded a year earlier. In Dutchess County, the local metropolitan share slipped from 43.3% to 39.8%, signaling a modest diversification in the buyer pool.

Does Winter Buzz Translate Into Home Shopping?

Given the heavy media coverage of celebrities cozying up in mountain lodges and exploring boutique hotels in the snow, it is natural to assume that winter enthusiasm directly triggers a massive wave of home purchases in these picturesque towns. However, real estate experts note that the reality on the ground is more nuanced.

"Winter getaway buzz hasn’t translated into a winter surge in home shopping," explains Realtor.com senior economist Hannah Jones. "Interest in the Catskills and Beacon follows normal seasonal patterns, but both places hold on to the attention of New York–area shoppers better than most markets, and they’re taking up a growing share of what those shoppers look at. At the same time, New York–area shoppers make up a smaller share of the audience for each destination than they did a year ago."

According to historical Realtor.com data, NYC-metro listing views typically fell between 21% and 25% in the Catskills, and between 19% and 25% in Dutchess County, when comparing the third quarter to the fourth quarter across multiple analyzed years. Crucially, those downward shifts were broadly in line with the standard national seasonal slowdown that occurs as the holidays approach and weather conditions deteriorate.

Because NYC-area views across all national listings fell even more sharply during those periods—dropping by 30% to 37%—both Beacon and the Catskills were uniquely positioned to capture a progressively larger share of urban attention heading straight into the holiday season. For instance, in the fourth quarter of 2025, the Catskills’ share of total NYC-metro browsing rose visibly from 1.03% in the third quarter up to 1.23% in the final months of the year.

However, as the calendar turns from the fourth quarter into the first quarter of the new year, the seasonal slowdown deepens further for these specific regional getaways. Historical data shows that NYC-metro views dropped by 2%, 8%, and 15% across successive winters in the Catskills, and fell by 6%, 5%, and 16% in Dutchess County during the same periods. By contrast, across those exact same winter windows, total NYC-metro views across all national listings actually rebounded slightly, rising by 2% to 10% as general spring preparation began to stir in warmer or more urban markets.

For prospective buyers who frequently picture themselves settling down into a cozy winter retreat amidst the falling snow, these figures demonstrate that active home browsing in these specific upstate destinations tends to cool down noticeably after the holiday season concludes. Even as New Yorkers resume their active home searches elsewhere as winter gives way to early spring, the initial rush of holiday daydreaming settles into a steady, predictable rhythm of seasonal real estate patience.