Second Homes Increasing In The South West

[bricor mortis]

SECOND-home ownership hit a new record high in the South West last year thanks to new holiday patterns, according to property consultancy Knight Frank.

Knight Frank's 2011 New Build Second Homes report, released today, shows that staycations and a new way of holidaying pushed second home ownership in the South West to a new record high despite the slide in transactions in the wider housing market.

Demand for larger houses has risen strongly over the past twelve months as more families choose "generational" holidays, with grandparents, children and grandchildren staying in the same holiday property.

The demand for larger homes from holidaymakers wanting to do the same means investors have also become more interested in more spacious properties.

Illustrating this trend, sales of newly-developed three-bedroom houses by Knight Frank in the South West trebled in the year to June, compared to the previous 12 months

Demand for holiday lets in the South West was up 70% in the early months of the year compared to the same period in 2010

Nearly half of all homes in Trebetherick area of Polzeath in North Cornwall are second homes.

Gráinne Gilmore, Head of UK Residential Research at Knight Frank, said: "The staycation trend seen in recent years looks set to continue as the weak pound makes the option of holidaying abroad or buying a home overseas seem less attractive.

"Instead, buyers are choosing a second home in the UK. The possibility of letting out the property when they are not staying also means that it becomes an investment as well as a luxury.

"As more families choose to stay in the UK rather than jetting overseas, there is an increasing focus of 'generational' family holidays, with grandparents joining their children and grandchildren on holiday.

“This in turn has pushed up demand for larger properties from both buyers and investors, especially houses with three or more bedrooms, so that there is enough space for the extended family to spread out. But draughty cottages or homes with faded interiors will not pass muster. Families want to holiday in a property which is finished to a very high standard with all the mod cons, making new-build houses more attractive.”

"The South West dominates the UK domestic tourism market, with plenty of popular holiday destinations such as Padstow, South Hams or St Agnes. The area is also well served in terms of transport with regular flights to Exeter, Plymouth and Newquay airports as well as trains from London and other major cities in the UK."

[Charlie Don't Surf]

Linky?

[Patfig]

SECOND-home ownership hit a new record high in the South West last year thanks to new holiday patterns, according to property consultancy Knight Frank.

Knight Frank's 2011 New Build Second Homes report, released today, shows that staycations and a new way of holidaying pushed second home ownership in the South West to a new record high despite the slide in transactions in the wider housing market.

Demand for larger houses has risen strongly over the past twelve months as more families choose "generational" holidays, with grandparents, children and grandchildren staying in the same holiday property.

The demand for larger homes from holidaymakers wanting to do the same means investors have also become more interested in more spacious properties.

Illustrating this trend, sales of newly-developed three-bedroom houses by Knight Frank in the South West trebled in the year to June, compared to the previous 12 months

Demand for holiday lets in the South West was up 70% in the early months of the year compared to the same period in 2010

Nearly half of all homes in Trebetherick area of Polzeath in North Cornwall are second homes.

Gráinne Gilmore, Head of UK Residential Research at Knight Frank, said: "The staycation trend seen in recent years looks set to continue as the weak pound makes the option of holidaying abroad or buying a home overseas seem less attractive.

"Instead, buyers are choosing a second home in the UK. The possibility of letting out the property when they are not staying also means that it becomes an investment as well as a luxury.

"As more families choose to stay in the UK rather than jetting overseas, there is an increasing focus of 'generational' family holidays, with grandparents joining their children and grandchildren on holiday.

“This in turn has pushed up demand for larger properties from both buyers and investors, especially houses with three or more bedrooms, so that there is enough space for the extended family to spread out. But draughty cottages or homes with faded interiors will not pass muster. Families want to holiday in a property which is finished to a very high standard with all the mod cons, making new-build houses more attractive.”

"The South West dominates the UK domestic tourism market, with plenty of popular holiday destinations such as Padstow, South Hams or St Agnes. The area is also well served in terms of transport with regular flights to Exeter, Plymouth and Newquay airports as well as trains from London and other major cities in the UK."

being able to afford a first home would be nice

[bricor mortis]

Linky?

the article was from the Plymouth Herald Tuesday but is no longer available for me to attempt a link. My fail rate on links to the Herald or Rightmove is about 75% for reasons not obvious to me, so I just thought I would copy the entire article. Apologies but I dont think you would have been further illumined.

[TheIncomer]

The evidence doesn't support the assertion

Illustrating this trend, sales of newly-developed three-bedroom houses by Knight Frank in the South West trebled in the year to June, compared to the previous 12 months

new build 3 beds don't strike me as "generational holiday" homes, nor as 2nd home fodder. Nor do they strike me as the kind of homes KF would normally be selling. So this factoid suggests to me that KF is being forced to slum it with the pleb agents selling 3 bed new builds not grand mansions. Nothing about 2nd homes.

Demand for holiday lets in the South West was up 70% in the early months of the year compared to the same period in 2010

Maybe. But it's dead as a doornail down here at the moment, all the holiday businesses I know are moaning. And demand for holiday lets surely would indicate less demand for 2nd home purchases? ie people are renting not buying.

...The area is also well served in terms of transport with regular flights to Exeter, Plymouth and Newquay ..."

Not for long! Plymouth goes this month, Air SW pulled out of Newquay this week leaving only a few teeny little FlyBe propjets. IMHO Newquay Airport is dead, no way will the Council continue to subsidise it by £5 million a year. Exeter might survive, but to be honest it's quicker to drive from London to Exeter than fly.

Don't panic, house prices are coming down nicely albeit slowly. No sign of any 2nd home buyers, just locals.

[porca misèria]

Don't panic, house prices are coming down nicely albeit slowly. No sign of any 2nd home buyers, just locals.

Dunno about that, but plenty of second homes around, both sides of the border.

As in, houses someone has inherited. Or moved out of, to join forces with a partner. Or variants on such themes.

[TheIncomer]

What I meant was, I know quite a few people trying to sell houses down here, and none of them have had a sniff from 2nd home buyers. It seems to have gone back to retirees wanting to move to Cornwall, and locals wanting to trade up eg to good schools. Most of the activity seems to be in the 400k range, whether you call that expensive or not depends! Hardly any of the posh million plus stock is shifting. I know several people in stuck & collapsed chains, one couple has sold 3 times and it's fallen through. Lots of price reductions in my search area, 5-10% typically, and they still don't shift with those reductions.

Agents are now asking part of their fee up front, non-returnable, with more on completion. A couple of sellers I know have told them to get on their bikes, they can take cash on completion or nothing. But IMHO it shows how desperate the agents are for cashflow.

West Briton property section this week had its whole back page with "summer reductions" splashed across it and a dozen or so houses across several agents.

[Vagabond]

I normally monitor anywhere between 10-20 properties in Glos (between Stroud and Ciren) and recently I've noticed a few things;

1) Things have slowed to a crawl. Nothing in my selection is selling or even going under offer. This is quite unusual, normally a property or two would go under offer every month.

2) This has resulted in a few prices starting to come down. Again, very unusual. Having said that though, the reductions are only in the ball park of a couple of %.

3) There appears to be an uptick in the number of holiday/weekend homes for sale. This doesn't have to contradict the OP but I found it interesting.

Add all those together and I'm starting to hope the tide is turning.. Much needed in the SW which has been really resilient so far.

[TheIncomer]

Here in Cornwall I see a spring bounce in volume, but a large reduction in average selling price. I think the market for million pound ego second homes is dead. We are back to retirees moving down here, and locals moving up/sideways for schools or jobs. Those kind of people don't have a million to spend, more like £500k if they are very lucky. A few signs of the million pounders starting to chase the market down.

[Simon Brown]

Here in Cornwall I see a spring bounce in volume, but a large reduction in average selling price. I think the market for million pound ego second homes is dead. We are back to retirees moving down here, and locals moving up/sideways for schools or jobs. Those kind of people don't have a million to spend, more like £500k if they are very lucky. A few signs of the million pounders starting to chase the market down.

What are the expectations for 2012 / 2013? I'm planning to retire to Cornwall in 2012 / 2013 and am 'happy' to watch prices in the 400k to 550k range drifting down.

[Frank Hovis]

What are the expectations for 2012 / 2013? I'm planning to retire to Cornwall in 2012 / 2013 and am 'happy' to watch prices in the 400k to 550k range drifting down.

Local demand plummeting. Like Wales & Scotland the public sector drives the economy down here, both directly and indirectly, and the cuts mean that jobs are going and wages are being cut. Most recent news (last week) is £6k cuts for care workers (who aren't exactly overpaid in the first place) and a small company going bust because they lost the council contract (not awarded to anybody else, just pulled).

This will add to the non-existence of first time buyers so the cheaper properties get cheaper and those on the alleged "ladder" are unable to move up to the £0.5m houses because there's nobody to sell onto before trading up.

This of course won't impact out-of-county demand but that's down to the wider economy which isn't in great shape.

Follow property snake if you want to track cuts and be amazed at quite how long some of the houses have been for sale, some since the site started.

[Charlie Don't Surf]

Sooner or later the peasants will revolt! Then again if I had the choice I'd have f****d off abroad and left it to the retirees several years ago

[Simon Brown]

Sooner or later the peasants will revolt! Then again if I had the choice I'd have f****d off abroad and left it to the retirees several years ago

Well that's what i did in mid 1986 and it's the best thing I ever did. Now it's time for one final move, I'll be retiring at 55 so still young enough and fancy a base in one of the better parts of the UK.

[Simon Brown]

Local demand plummeting. Like Wales & Scotland the public sector drives the economy down here, both directly and indirectly, and the cuts mean that jobs are going and wages are being cut. Most recent news (last week) is £6k cuts for care workers (who aren't exactly overpaid in the first place) and a small company going bust because they lost the council contract (not awarded to anybody else, just pulled).

This will add to the non-existence of first time buyers so the cheaper properties get cheaper and those on the alleged "ladder" are unable to move up to the £0.5m houses because there's nobody to sell onto before trading up.

This of course won't impact out-of-county demand but that's down to the wider economy which isn't in great shape.

Follow property snake if you want to track cuts and be amazed at quite how long some of the houses have been for sale, some since the site started.

I'm not familiar with Property Snake but will take a look. I'm watching new property as it comes onto the market, mainly bungalows with a large garden as I have a hobby where I need space for antennas etc. In the price range I'm looking at I don't think it depends on the local economy, rather money coming into the county as people such as myself retire.

It's obvious that some people are setting the prices themselves. It'll be an interesting year I think.

[TheIncomer]

I think Cornwall has a hell of a long way to fall. It's no longer fashionable. The market was driven by incomers (mostly public sector employees) coming down and pumping up the housing market. Incomers have stopped leaving just retirees and locals as buyers. Prices are sticky because lots of sellers are not under pressure to move. But I think that will change.

My advice, wait it out.

Also, if you do move down here, I'd really recommend renting for a year or two to find out where you really want to be. Live through a year and see how you like the summer crowds and the winter howling winds (especially on the North coast). Lots of places that look nice in May look like hell in July and/or January.

[TheIncomer]

... In the price range I'm looking at I don't think it depends on the local economy, rather money coming into the county as people such as myself retire.

Dead right. But lots of sales Up Country are stuck in stale chains, which means houses down here aren't shifting that fast. I think most of what is selling is to cash buyers or very short chains.

Remember a lot of the bungalows up for sale are retirees who need to move back Up Country - as they get older they want to be nearer family. So some kind of equilibrium needs to be established where older retirees can move back U.C. and younger ones can move in to replace them. That's not going to happen for a while until chains get moving U.C.

[Simon Brown]

Dead right. But lots of sales Up Country are stuck in stale chains, which means houses down here aren't shifting that fast. I think most of what is selling is to cash buyers or very short chains.

Remember a lot of the bungalows up for sale are retirees who need to move back Up Country - as they get older they want to be nearer family. So some kind of equilibrium needs to be established where older retirees can move back U.C. and younger ones can move in to replace them. That's not going to happen for a while until chains get moving U.C.

I'll be a cash buyer and have seen quite a few places I like which are available now - maybe the residents died, went into a nursing home or whatever.

As has been suggested it's for 2013 - I think I'll stay here in Switzerland until then. the Swiss Franc is stupidly strong...

[Harold Bishop]

I think Cornwall has a hell of a long way to fall. It's no longer fashionable. The market was driven by incomers.

100% agree. Over the last ten years you couldn't pick up the Saturday Telegraph without it publishing some gooey story about Cornwall. I don't see those stories now as I think people have twigged the Staycation in Cornwall is effing expensive and generally wet.

My experience....Nice weather months in Cornwall. May is often nice as is September. Summer school holiday months; generally mizzley and grey. Late Autumn through to late Spring; wind and rain. Very rare for the temperature to exceed 21 deg C. One ends up longing for warm dry weather - year after year - until you say ****** to it.

[TheIncomer]

I'll be a cash buyer and have seen quite a few places I like which are available now - maybe the residents died, went into a nursing home or whatever.

As has been suggested it's for 2013 - I think I'll stay here in Switzerland until then. the Swiss Franc is stupidly strong...

My estate agent spy tells me there were a lot of probate sales in the spring, the cold weather killed a lot of 'em off. If you are a cash buyer in 2013 I expect you'll have a good choice. IMHO prices will continue to go down long after that, but in an agonisingly slow way. But make damn sure you know where you are buying. For example:- will you be a prisoner in your home on August Bank Holiday? Will the local chavs use the neighbouring field for moto-x and quad bike practice? Are you comfortable driving 10 miles on single track to get a pint of milk? etc etc.

[Simon Brown]

My estate agent spy tells me there were a lot of probate sales in the spring, the cold weather killed a lot of 'em off. If you are a cash buyer in 2013 I expect you'll have a good choice. IMHO prices will continue to go down long after that, but in an agonisingly slow way. But make damn sure you know where you are buying. For example:- will you be a prisoner in your home on August Bank Holiday? Will the local chavs use the neighbouring field for moto-x and quad bike practice? Are you comfortable driving 10 miles on single track to get a pint of milk? etc etc.

All good advice, ta!

[Charlie Don't Surf]

Good points being made on this thread.

It amazes me that some of the middle class incomers who came down on the wave of the Cornish revival have not realised that Cornwall is no longer the Sunday supplement pin up it was.

Penzance for example has lost 2 of its Michelin listed restaurants and one even better one. However, Savils for one are still trotting out the spiel on how West Cornwall is a foodie's paradise etc, etc.

Cornwall is ridiculously overpriced still but I don't see the demand there. On the bright side I am seeing lots of reductions and some of them beginning to hit 20% But it still amazes me that chancers will put their 'townhouses' on the market for prices in excess of similar, cheaper properties that have been on the market for 2 years

[TheIncomer]

Penzance for example has lost 2 of its Michelin listed restaurants and one even better one. However, Savils for one are still trotting out the spiel on how West Cornwall is a foodie's paradise etc, etc.

I'm staggered by the concept of Penzance having Michelin-starred restaurants.

[Frank Hovis]

I'm staggered by the concept of Penzance having Michelin-starred restaurants.

It may have its rough bits (Newlyn....) but Penzance is generally vey nice. Wouldn't mind living there myself.

[FreeTrader]

Don't know whether this FT article may be of interest to readers of this sub-forum:

Second-home owners forced to cut prices

Price reductions are becoming an increasingly common occurrence in the popular second-home market of the South West, as sellers find themselves forced to cut asking prices to achieve a sale, according to property agents.

New figures from Savills, the property agent, reveal that 75 per cent of the properties on its books in Devon have had their prices cut at least once this year, with the average reduction being 15 per cent.

These price cuts are also being seen in the Cornish market. Just over 40 per cent of this year’s stock has had its price reduced, with average price cuts of 16 per cent. However, properties that have been reduced by 20 per cent have attracted the most interest and most frequently led to a sale.

More at the link:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/bd2ee2ae-d4c1-11e0-a7ac-00144feab49a.html#axzz1WYfYkwH8

[InlikeFlynn]

Don't know whether this FT article may be of interest to readers of this sub-forum:

More at the link:

http://www.ft.com/cm...l#axzz1WYfYkwH8

Thanks for this, very interesting. It's good that even the EAs are saying that the market has fallen. Here in N. Devon the market has clearly worsened in the past few months but we shall have to wait for the land registry figures to know by how much.