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Second homes take toll on first-time buyers

Friday, 1 February 2008 12:00 AM

Second home ownership is having a negative effect on the UK property market, forcing prices higher and limiting the opportunities for first-time buyers.

That is the view of the National Housing Federation (NHF), which represents 1,300 housing associations in England and finds even a slight slowdown in the market is not sufficient to halt its negative impact.

"The number of second home owners in the UK is definitely having an impact on house prices generally," said an NHF spokesman.

"Although we are beginning to see a slight dip in the market, the fact is house prices have risen to such a level that even with a significant drop it's going to be very hard for people on low or even moderate incomes to afford a place of their own."

The number of UK second homes are expected to soar 24 per cent by 2015, according to the NHF, with the market also expected to grow to an estimated £53 billion in the next decade.

"One of the great pressures on the market is the fact that there is such a shortage of supply and incredibly high demand, so it's inevitable that the large number of second home owners has had an impact," continued the spokesman.

At present there are 328,000 second homeowners in the UK - a number which is expected to rise to 405,000 by 2015.

Problems are particularly acute on the south-west coast, according to the NHF.

"We are particularly seeing an impact in the popular coastal regions; areas where there are a high number of holiday homes," continued the spokesman.

"Some towns and villages, particularly in the south-west of England, are largely empty for much of the year because there are so many holiday homes there.

"People don't live there for much of the year and then turn up there in the summer before heading back to their primary residence."

The part-time nature of the residencies in these properties is proving to the detriment of local economies, according to the NHF.

"The impact that we're seeing there is not only people being priced out of the market, but also services within the local economy are suffering for the rest of the year," concluded the NHF spokesman.

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