SALISBURY — April and May had vacation home rental agent Tom Saab concerned the recession would result in a terrible summer season for Salisbury Beach rentals.

Then came June.

"My phones rang off the hook in June with people calling wanting to book at the beach," Saab said during a recent interview. "What most people were asking for is oceanfront."

Saab said the 85 or so homes he rents for his clients for the summer are pretty much taken for this holiday weekend and the rest of the summer, although there are some weeks still available. Oddly, he said, the higher-priced homes booked first this year, with the lower end of the rental market still holding some vacant weeks.

As in past years, he said, renters are from the Greater Lowell and Haverhill area. They're repeat customers who have come to Salisbury for most of their yearly vacations or are returning to Salisbury this year after a few years' absence.

For Salisbury Beach Rose RV Park owner Ray Champagne, this week is full, and he's seeing a small rise in occupancy this year compared to last. The Beach Rose is a small park, but it caters to the larger recreational vehicle, he said. He's seeing another trend this year: more Canadians.

"We had Canadians book with us last year, but this year we're getting even more," Champagne said. "Last year we were worried because the cost of fuel was so high. This year, fuel is lower but the economy is worse, but people from Canada are booking. They come back to places they like, but the ocean here is the biggest draw."

As for the weather, Champagne said it's rained so long, it's now become a joke. He's sent his guests out shopping and figures the malls are doing well.

"They have a 15 percent sales tax in Canada, so they like shopping here and in New Hampshire where there's no sale tax," he said. "They're buying everything. They're buying Christmas gifts, birthday gifts and school clothes."

The weather is keeping the short-term traveler from booking hotels, said Bob Preston of Preston Real Estate in Seabrook, but repeat clients are still coming back and booking weeks at the 350 or so homes he rents for clients from Rye, N.H., through the Hamptons, Seabrook and Salisbury.

"Thank God for repeat customers," Preston said. "One of the things they've been asking for is if the homes come with grills. With the economy, they may not be going out to eat three or four times during the week they're coming up, but they're staying home, inviting up their other friends and family members and having cookouts at their rentals. But we can use sunshine. I'm telling people to come on up; it can't rain forever."