The holiday lets market is just starting to pick up and new research shows that 80 per cent of those who invest in the sector with their holiday homes do not live locally - thus maximising the need for agents to handle their properties.
The research, for insurance firm Schofields, found that over 80 per cent of owners are not local to the area of their property, with 62 per cent living over 150 miles away.
In terms of vacation hotspots, the research found that only 11 per cent of those who let their holiday homes in Cornwall lived close by; in Devon the figure was 14 per cent and in Norfolk 24 per cent. In the Lake District it was a mere four per cent.
“We have seen some places like St Ives bring in regulations that limit second home buyers and those not living within the local area. This could bring in an unintentional limit to the number of visitors who can stay in the local area, without more accommodation, tourist numbers can't grow” warns Phil Schofield, head of inbound marketing at the insurance firm.
He adds: “The threat of a fivefold council tax hike in the Yorkshire Dales could also have a knock-on effect with tourism. If this went through, second home owners who rent their properties out to holiday makers would have to increase the cost of staying. This could see people a decrease in booking these properties and perhaps staying in areas outside the Yorkshire Dales with cheaper accommodation."
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Interesting stats. As the Partner of a Large Lake District Self catering agency - Heart of the Lakes we experience very low local owner figures. Interestingly, owners are consistently looking at alternative ways of letting for no particular reason other than to save costs. This so often ends in failure. The likes of Air BnB simply can not offer the back up a local agency can. Unless of course you are local owner... Last year we marketed, let and managed 10,000 week of holidays bringing approx 50k people into the local community, all feeding into the local economy, many holiday makers return year after year and often stay in the same property.
Its fantastic industry to be involved with - i've been involved with he family business now for 27 yesrs..!!!
its a constantly evolving and market forces change all the time, but the local agency will always be needed.
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