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Saturday 23 December 2017

Sidmouth has the largest number of second home sales in East Devon

Everybody's banning second homes:
Two more second homes bans agreed in Cornwall - BBC News
More places in Cornwall follow St Ives second homes ban as High Court challenge dismissed - Cornwall Live

And that doesn't include empty homes:
One in 10 homes in Cornwall is empty and that doesn't even include second and holiday homes - Cornwall Live

Others are planning tax increases:
Yorkshire Dales - Report: ‘Consider five times Council Tax for second homes’

Because it's ruining life for the locals:
Grockles: the second-home-owning out-of-towners ruining the West Country | Society | The Guardian

But it appears that numbers are decreasing - not only because of the St Ives vote on second homes, but following on from the government's increase in stamp duty:

“It’s had a definite effect on the holiday-home market,” says Susan Couch of John Couch, an estate agency in Torquay, Devon. She fears it may also hit retirees or those buying a home in need of renovation, who unavoidably end up owning a “second” home – even for a short while – and thus must pay the surcharge upfront, even if some can reclaim it later.

Knight Frank is warning that the market in waterside second homes – where beautiful views and features such as moorings put a hefty premium on the asking price, thus pushing up the cost of the stamp duty surcharge – may stagnate in the short term until holiday purchasers become accustomed to the higher fee.

Ironically, therefore, councils worried about second-home ownership levels may have an inadvertent ally in the Government. That stamp duty change may be more effective than St Ives-style bans at stifling demand from incomers, irrespective of the outcome of next month’s court case.


Where to buy to avoid the second homes backlash - Telegraph

When it comes to second home sales in East Devon - Sidmouth is at the top:

Over the last three years, the number of second homes across the district has slowly been decreasing. Across East Devon there are 69,333 households, with 2,339 being used as second homes. This has fallen by 2.8 per cent since 2015.

In Exmouth, the drop was slightly more, with a three per cent decrease from 459 to 442. Estate agents have suggested this is down to the increase on stamp duty when purchasing a second house. 


Mike Dibble, a director Bradleys Estate Agents, said anybody who bought a second home now paid an extra three per cent in stamp duty. He added: “For example, if you are a first-time buyer and purchase a home for £250,000, the stamp duty would be £2,500. But, if you are buying a second home or a buy-to-let then you would pay an extra £7,500, paying a total of £10,000 in stamp duty”.

Mr Dibble added the estate agents sold ‘nowhere near’ as many second homes as they used to.

The town with the most second homes was Sidmouth, which by April of this year, had a total of 471. The town has half the number of households compared to Exmouth and statistically, of Sidmouth’s 7,885 properties, six per cent are second homes.

An East Devon District Council spokeswoman said: “There are a large number of second homes in East Devon for which the owners pay council tax in the same way as do all other home owners in the district.”

Source:
Journal 14 December 2017


Exmouth sees drop in second home sales | East Devon Watch

The fact is, though, that London has the most second-home owners:

Yet an inconvenient truth for some opponents of second homes, who often describe it as a problem uniquely affecting coastal communities, is that the proportions of second homes in parts of London far outstrip these tourist favourites. More than one in four residential properties in the City of London, or 28.5 per cent, are second homes, followed by 10.2 per cent of homes in Kensington and Chelsea, and 5.9 per cent in Camden.

“Some central London locations are heavy on second homes because of pied-à-terres owned by those working in London during the week,” says Fionnuala Earley, research director at Hamptons International. “Others are second homes in prime areas of London bought by the very wealthy with several homes who are buying something as an investment.”

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