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Second homes continue to grow in popularity for UK property investors

28th July 2005 | back to article listings BACK    print this article PRINT

A growing number of property buyers in the UK are opting for second homes, either at home or abroad, as the appeal of a convenient holiday getaway or secured future investment continues to rise. Traditionally, property buyers looking for additional homes have focussed their attentions upon established holiday hotspots in the nearby continent, particular France and Spain. These locations are still very much sought after and the their foreign property markets have proven consistently buoyant for many years. Nonetheless, emerging trends of buyers focussing their attentions upon the UK property market are becoming more prevalent, as a number of UK regions rise in profile as attractive holiday destinations.

Over 2003/04 the number of Brits with second homes rose to a peak of almost 400,000, representing an increase of almost 25 per cent over the past decade. Of these, a large proportion are overseas properties, a trend that has been fuelled largely by the onset of cheap air travel, making it easier to visit second homes in previously 'remote' areas. In all, the number of second homes outside of the UK has increased by 85 per cent to 165,00, up from 89,000 ten years earlier. In tandem with this the number of UK-based second homes has also increased notably, by some 40,000 over the period, despite the overall proportion of UK second homes having fallen in comparison to the number of overseas properties bought.

This, however, could be set for a change. A Nationwide report on the UK housing market highlights research from the University of Surrey indicating a selection of domestic locations that are growing in popularity as holiday destinations. St Ives in Cornwall came fourth in the worldwide list, above Copacabana in Rio. St David’s in Wales came in at number eighteen, above many Fijian and Caribbean beaches.

Overall, the most popular region in which to have a second home has been identified as the south-west, which currently contains 22 per cent of all second homes in the UK, followed by 20 per cent in the north-east, north-west and Yorkshire and Humberside combined and a further 19 per cent in the south-east. Perhaps surprisingly, a large percentage of these second homes are located not in quiet, rural getaways as you might expect, but instead in busier parts of larger cities. For many, the appeal is in having a main residence in a quieter part of the country supplemented by a smaller property in the city for city-breaks.

That said, property prices in Brighton, a popular UK leisure spot (especially for Londoners) are significantly higher than the regional average, and the same goes for the Cotswolds, where properties are some £20,000 higher than the average.

This is a press release by Assetz also available at http://press.assetz.co.uk/articles/2053.html. Alternatively, please see our full press release archive.

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