Spain Plus More

The number of Brits with holiday homes in the sun doubles

The number of people who own a second home abroad has nearly doubled in the past two years, figures have shown. Around 800,000 people now have a place in the sun, up 45 per cent since July 2004, according to a survey by the research analyst Mintel.

The trend is likely to continue, with another three per cent of British households intending to buy a second property abroad some time in the future, while five per cent are thinking of moving from the UK altogether.
Paul Davies, a Mintel analyst, said the idea of buying a second home abroad had become an "achievable ambition" for many people.

"The UK property boom has increased levels of housing equity and has given many people the opportunity to purchase their dream home in the sun," he said.
The overseas property boom has been fuelled by the availability of cheap flights to sunny destinations as well as low interest rates.
Forty per cent of the people questioned by Mintel had bought the property to make money, suggesting that homeowners are increasingly seeing their holiday homes as part of their retirement provisions..
"Those who are investing in second homes often plan to make them permanent on retirement and are happy to let them in order to generate an income in the meantime."
Recent research from the accountant Grant Thornton on second home ownership suggested that two per cent of the British population now own a property abroad, a figure of 1.2 million. However, this includes people who have emigrated.

Rob Withecombe, the head of the entrepreneur and private client division of Grant Thornton, said the typical owner of a foreign residence was either a pensioner with their main residence abroad or an affluent person over the age of 45 who owned the property as an investment or holiday home.
Grant Thornton estimated that the value of second homes abroad had quadrupled to £30.9 billion since 1999, when the boom in global house prices began.

According to yesterday's Mintel survey, Spain is the most popular destination among Britons who either want to move abroad or have already done so. More than four in 10 named it as their preferred destination.
France followed in second place with 26 per cent of people wanting to move there. Australia was the third most popular country with 22 per cent of people preferring to move there, then Italy at 21 per cent and the US at 17 per cent.

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24 November 2006