In some ways the hook would seem to be the home, but the real selling point is the experience.

Developers can sometimes get away with less than a full home. Clear Creek Tahoe is a mountain community on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe with golf, water sports, skiing and hiking. It is also right next to California.

The marketing of the development started before the real estate crash and essentially went into hibernation until a new group took over in 2015. With the majority of the infrastructure built — but none of the homes — they needed a way to start selling half-acre to five-acre plots that were priced from $300,000 to $1.7 million.

So they built cottages with the same high-end finishes the eventual homes would have, but designed each one to evoke why people should buy there. One reflected the style of the designers of the golf course, another the boating on Lake Tahoe.

Lori Brooks and her husband, David, who live in San Diego, had been looking for a home around the lake because it ticked many of the boxes they wanted in what would eventually be a retirement home: near a college town and airport, good health care, plenty of outdoor activities.

In the spring, on their second visit to the Tahoe area, they stayed in one of the Clear Creek cottages — no charge — and ended up buying a lot. They’re planning on constructing a 4,500-square-foot home with both mountain and golf course views.

“We walked to our lot every night,” she said. “We envisioned what we were going to do.”

Others at the highest end are selling the escape from an uncertain world. Las Ventanas al Paraiso has been a successful resort in San Jose del Cabo, Mexico, for 20 years. It is now marketing the final 30 homes in the property, which range from $2.7 million to over $7 million.