Rapid Evidence Assessment of the Research ... - Rural Housing

Rapid Evidence Assessment What is of the the geographical Research Literature distribution on the of second Purchase homes and Use across of Second England, Homes and what are the characteristics of places with
a high concentration of second homes?
5. What is the geographical distribution
of second homes across England,
and what are the characteristics of
places with a high concentration
of second homes?
Introduction
115. This chapter sets out the published evidence on the distribution of second homes England. It will
concentrate on recent evidence of the prevalence of second homes by regions and by local authority area. The
sources quoted rely on evidence from Council Tax records. This is the most comprehensive source available.
There are however claims (see Chapter Two) that this data under-estimates the number of second homes.
116. There will also be a summation of the published evidence on the characteristics of places with large
proportions of second homes.
Regional distribution of second homes
Table 5: Percentage Share of Total Second Homes by English Region
34
2005 2006
South West 21.3% 21.3%
London 21.1% 20.7%
South East 17.6% 17.3%
East 11.9% 11.8%
North West 7.7% 8.0%
Yorks & Humber 6.9% 6.9%
West Midlands 6.3% 6.6%
East Midlands 4.1% 4.1%
North East 3.1% 3.2%
All Regions 100 100
Source: Savills (2007) quoting CLG, Savills Research
117. A report by Savills (2007) summarised the regional distribution of second homes in 2005 and 2006 using
CLG data based on Council Tax records. The results are shown in Table 5. This shows that 42 per cent of
second homes are in the South West and London and that together with the South East these regions account
for nearly half of all the second homes in England. The North East and the East Midlands have the smallest
shares of second homes.