"It’s understandable that second homeownership is a contentious subject in areas such as Cornwall, where the local population feels they are priced out of the market by those driving up house prices when purchasing holiday homes that are rarely inhabited"
- Colby Short - GetAgent
The latest research by estate agent comparison site, GetAgent.co.uk, has revealed that the estimated value of the second home property market currently stands at £43.5bn across England and Wales, with Kensington and Chelsea the most value second home hotspot, while Cornwall ranks top in terms of the volume of second homes.
GetAgent analysed the latest data from the Office for National Statistics on second-home homeownership levels, before looking at the estimated value of the second-home property market based on the latest house price data from the Gov UK House Price Index.
The research shows that there are some 141,245 second homes currently found across the property market in England and Wales.
Flats are the most common type of second home, accounting for 42% of all second home market stock. Detached houses (23%) and terraced homes (21%) also prove popular amongst second-home homebuyers, while semi-detached homes are the least prevalent second-home property type, accounting for 13% of the market stock.
GetAgent then looked at the current average house price for each property type to reveal the total market value of the second home property market.
The figures show that while flats may be the most common, it’s detached homes that hold the greatest market value. The average price of a detached home across England and Wales currently stands at £478,744, meaning the total market value of detached second homes comes in at £15.9bn.
Second-home flats are estimated to be worth £14.9bn in the current market, with terraced homes and semi-detached properties worth £7.3bn and £5.5bn respectively.
In total, GetAgent estimates that the total market value of the second home property market is currently worth a staggering £43.5bn.
When it comes to the area with the most second homes, Cornwall ranks as the nation’s second-home hotspot by quite some margin. There are currently 9,425 second homes found across Cornwall, with Kensington and Chelsea ranking second with 5,355.
Westminster is the third hottest spot in the second home housing market with 4,390, followed by North Yorkshire (4,190) and Gwynedd (3,475).
When it comes to the total market value of the second home housing market, the top three remain the same, albeit in a different order. Kensington and Chelsea sit top at an estimated £6bn, followed by Westminster (£4.2bn) and Cornwall (£3.1bn).
Tower Hamlets (£1.5bn) and South Hams (£1.1bn) also make the top five.
Co-founder and CEO of GetAgent.co.uk, Colby Short, commented: “There are some 141,245 second homes owned across England and Wales and while this equates to a minute proportion of total dwellings, the issue is that they are largely concentrated within certain areas of the market such as London and the South West.
"So it’s understandable that second homeownership is a contentious subject in areas such as Cornwall, where the local population feels they are priced out of the market by those driving up house prices when purchasing holiday homes that are rarely inhabited.
"You’d need only look at the average house price in areas with high second home ownership levels and the total value of the second home market to see the impact it’s having on housing affordability.”
