UK second homes market set to soar

UK SECOND HOMES MARKET SET TO SOAR

The UK second homes market is booming and Britons are expected to continue buying second properties over the next ten years, a new study claims.

The survey found that Britons currently own 328,000 homes in the UK and 178,000 properties abroad and predicts that the number of people buying second homes in the UK will rise by 24 per cent to 405,000 by 2015.

UK homeowners are continuing to favour buying second homes in Britain and the report from Direct Line Home Insurance in conjunction with The Centre for Future Studies forecasts that the total value of second homes owned in this country will soar to £53 billion over the next decade.

The study predicts that areas earmarked for regeneration, such as Bradford City Centre and East London, will be future second home hotspots, while climate change will become an increasingly significant motivator to buy in the UK, with Exmoor and the Scottish island of Mull due to become more popular.

Reasons cited by respondents for buying second homes in the UK rather than overseas included convenient travel, better investment opportunities and no language barrier.

Andrew Lowe, Direct Line head of home insurance, said: "As this trend continues, second homeowners need to think seriously about properly insuring their second properties and treating them as important assets to be protected, as they would their primary residence."

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