To think there would be less of a housing crisis if people stopped buying second homes!

[Okunoshima]

Before anyone says anything, I understand that some people have second homes as private rentals and understand the need for rental properties

What I'm talking about is people buying second homes as holiday homes to live in on weekends/holidays/lend out to their friends.

Where I live there are a huge number of houses used solely for this purpose, and a lot of these houses are 2 beds that would make great homes for couples or families to occupy permanently. Instead they sit empty most of the time, while residents are left with the option of trying to buy (not affordable for many) or trying to find something in the tiny pool of private rentals available.

I don't understand why people can't just use hotels/B&Bs etc. They would be contributing to the local economy by doing so, and creating employment.

@Lardlizard

We might buy a holiday home very soon, it will be for our use and enjoyment and as an investment. It’s not a moral thing to buy a house any or what a it is to buy stocks or shares

But a house is not just an investment, it's primary function is to house people, which makes buying a second home unavoidably a moral decision in a country with a lack of housing.

When I go on holiday, I like to go somewhere different each time. I can't understand the mentality of having a second home that means you have to go to the same place each time.

There are quite a lot of "buy to leave" properties in London, where people buy them as investments without letting anyone live in them. I actually think buy to leave should made illegal as it's pricing people out without even letting people rent in the meantime.

It’s not people with second homes that are the problem.
It’s landlords buying up portfolios of properties to rent to those who aren’t in a position to buy!

Obviously it's a big contributor in some areas (eg Cornwall), but net in the UK I'm not sure it's the biggest problem.

The main probelms is a mixture of the simple huge expense of land, so no one can build affordable things, and the seemingly inexhaustable ability to buy among the 'home-buying classes' - just think about the way prices have kept going up during coronavirus. Because the sort of people who have family property ownership/capital (eg, people like me) haven't been as badly affected, have lost fewer jobs, in fact may be benefiting from no commuting and low/no childcare costs so many are taking a punt on moving, especially as they realise they probably won't have to be tied down to a city because they'll never have to commute 5 days a week again. Home ownership's become a total closed shop for a small proportion of the population from home-owning families.

@Echobelly

Obviously it's a big contributor in some areas (eg Cornwall), but net in the UK I'm not sure it's the biggest problem.

The main probelms is a mixture of the simple huge expense of land, so no one can build affordable things, and the seemingly inexhaustable ability to buy among the 'home-buying classes' - just think about the way prices have kept going up during coronavirus. Because the sort of people who have family property ownership/capital (eg, people like me) haven't been as badly affected, have lost fewer jobs, in fact may be benefiting from no commuting and low/no childcare costs so many are taking a punt on moving, especially as they realise they probably won't have to be tied down to a city because they'll never have to commute 5 days a week again. Home ownership's become a total closed shop for a small proportion of the population from home-owning families.

Agree with the fact it's a closed shop, it's like a two tier society

Not replacing social housing homes which are sold under Right To Buy is a massive contributor.

It will get worse when the rules change and people can also buy shared ownership by 1% at a time.

I'd ban overseas investors buying prime London property & leave them empty. There are streets in West/central London with empty properties bought as investment cleaning dodgy cash or as seasonal holiday homes.

Local people are completely priced out of London generally. If I didn't buy my property 15 yrs ago there's no way I'd be able to afford to buy now.

I think a big part of the problem was when the councils/country gave people the “right to buy” therefore taking a whole load of social housing off the market!! It was a stupid idea!!

I do see your point but second homes also provide jobs in the area, such as employing local tradespeople to do them up and eating in local restaurants.

No they don't. If the house is empty for most of the year then the owner never goes to local restaurants and never buys things from local shops. Those restaurants and shops end up closing down due to the lack of customers.

And then schools and GP surgeries start closing down because of the lack of demand, so the people left living there have to travel even further for basic services.

House prices would plummet. People would be trapped in negative equity, banks would be screwed and would start with shitty mortgage terms.

To be fair, the village I grew up in, on the Lizard in Cornwall, closed its primary school in July 1962 for lack of pupils. Moving there during early September, my Dsis and I would have kept it open, just. It would have been like Victorian dame school... one teacher teaching six year groups in one class.

Fifteen years ago when I went back, the village was a ghost place full of holiday lets. In winter the only residents were over 80. No one to go to the pub or chapel or socials. On my last visit, I saw the pub landlord that I once knew. He pointed out a house, not special, that was owned by acquaintances of my parents and in 2005 said that it had sold for £375k. The highest paid locally advertised job that year was £16.5k... do the arithmetic.

It's ridiculous. Of course if you even dare to suggest buying a home is hard in the UK people who drive new cars, are mortgage free and retired before 60 accuse you of spending all your money on avocado on toast. (I'll admit to buying the odd wonky avocado but don't think it is the reason I am on pro rata less than minimum wage!)

Legislating locally to restrict the number of second might not work either.

It is clearly mostly locals selling and for the best price to whoever so limiting the number of second homes in an area would mean a two tier market (which does happen in some places with restrictive covenants etc.) with some of the sellers getting unrestricted prices and some restricted. The locals aren't choosing to sell at a lower price to younger locals, and it could be argued why should they?

Building more houses, lots more shared ownership, replacing social housing stock (possibly with restrictive covenants) plus higher taxes etc. on second homes are urgently needed.

... but the biggest problem of all is the growing gap between the rich and poor, and our government don't seem particularly interested in tackling that.

Does everyone know our infrastructure ie gas has just been bought by the Chinese.

@BelleSausage The village were we live got busier in lockdown as most of the second home owners came here from London. Every home is occupied currently rather than the usual 75% of them.

On my last visit, I saw the pub landlord that I once knew. He pointed out a house, not special, that was owned by acquaintances of my parents and in 2005 said that it had sold for £375k. The highest paid locally advertised job that year was £16.5k... do the arithmetic

Well no, becayse people don’t just work locally they commute. And if you’re earning min wage, there are very few places in the Uk you can buy

@KaptainKaveman

snackosaurus your comments are ridiculous.

@KaptainKaveman Good to know. Have a nice day :)

Well no, becayse people don’t just work locally they commute. And if you’re earning min wage, there are very few places in the Uk you can buy

Where are you going to commute to in Cornwall or the Lake District?

This is Cornwall; nobody commutes... there's not enough public transport. So everyone drives, and there are not many local employers @Bluntness100.

I agree. DH used to work in a beautiful village where only a few houses were occupied full time; most were second homes or holiday homes. Of the few that were occupied, all the residents were pretty elderly & had lived there many years. There is now no bus service & no shop (both were still going when DH worked there 15 years ago), & the nearest school is about 12 miles away. AFAIK it's now all second homes, a few holiday homes. It's deserted in winter, & you can't get there due to the snow. The council don't even bother gritting the road any more, it isn't a priority as no-one is registered for council tax up there. I'm afraid I've no sympathy for anyone who had hopes of spending their Christmases in their cosy cottage in the Dales. Nor for the holiday cottage owners who complain that they can't let them out during the winter season.

The nearest village is larger and serves a decent area, but if you are elderly and didn't learn to drive because that was your husband's contribution to your marital life, and you're a widow, then even two miles between villages is a real barrier to getting a few groceries.

But if someone has the money to buy two homes, surely that’s their business

If someone has the money for two homes, please buy somewhere OTHER than Cornwall.

I own what I suppose you’d call a second home in the village I grew up in. (Actually it was my first house). We haven’t been there much this year, but normally we go and stay and visit family frequently. My roots are there. But my job is elsewhere in the country - a long way away from “home”. Should I sell this house to appease people like the OP?

I really hate the idea that my home, which we shall move from in the next two/three years to move closer to family and friends, could be sold to someone who will leave it empty for eight months a year, but because that's the money we shall retire with, we shall sell for the best offer. They may not be employers of local people, and the local economy will contract a bit more.