The number of properties rented as a second home in Great Britain reached 13,680 last year, the highest number on record, according to the latest Hamptons International Lettings Index, formerly the Countrywide Lettings Index.
The data shows that the number of rental properties used as a second home has been steadily increasing since 2007 when its records first began.
Last year, there were 136% more rented second homes than in 2007 when there were only 5,800.
The average rent on a second home reached £1,060 per calendar month (pcm) in Great Britain last year, the figures reveal.
This is up almost a quarter - 24% - compared to the average rent of a primary home in Great Britain.
In London, this rises to £2,030pcm with many second home renters using their London rental property as a pied-à-terre.
The capital has the third highest proportion of rented homes let as second homes, behind the South West in first place and Scotland in second.
Six out of the top 10 second home rental hotspots are located in the South East or South West.
The average cost of a new let rose to £953pcm, up 1.3% year-on-year in May. But the pace of rental growth slowed from 1.9% in April.
Average rents in the North fell for the second consecutive month. Meanwhile rental growth in London also slowed to 0.9%, driven by year-on-year falls in average rents in inner London.
Aneisha Beveridge, analyst at Hamptons International, commented: “The number of people renting second homes has reached a record high. The additional stamp duty surcharge on second home purchases introduced in April 2016, increased buyers' upfront costs and resulted in more people deciding to rent a second home rather than buy.
“The places second home renters are choosing include a mix of town and country. Second home rental hotspots reflect today’s lifestyle choices from the pied-à-terres in towns and cities, close to work, schools and all the amenities that city life has to offer, to rural and coastal locations perfect for escaping the trappings of a busy urban life.
“Average rents rose in seven out of eight regions in May on the back of fewer homes being available to rent than last year. Rents in the North fell for the second consecutive month, meanwhile rental growth remained strong in Wales, the East and the Midlands.”
Chart 1 – Second Home Rental Properties in Great Britain
Source: Hamptons International
Table 1 – Rented Second Homes in Great Britain
|
Rented Second Homes
|
2007
|
5,800
|
2008
|
4,430
|
2009
|
6,700
|
2010
|
8,650
|
2011
|
9,020
|
2012
|
9,880
|
2013
|
10,920
|
2014
|
12,680
|
2015
|
13,490
|
2016
|
12,370
|
2017
|
13,680
|
Source: Hamptons International
Table 2 – Top 15 Second Home Rental Hotspots
Local Authority
|
Region
|
% of rented homes as second homes
|
Windsor and Maidenhead
|
South East
|
14%
|
Gloucester
|
South West
|
11%
|
Tewkesbury
|
South West
|
6%
|
South Oxfordshire
|
South East
|
3%
|
St Albans
|
East
|
3%
|
Wyre Forest
|
West Midlands
|
3%
|
Sedgemoor
|
South West
|
2%
|
North Norfolk
|
East
|
2%
|
Rushmoor
|
South East
|
2%
|
Northumberland
|
North East
|
2%
|
City of Edinburgh
|
Scotland
|
1%
|
Castle Point
|
East
|
1%
|
North Ayrshire
|
Scotland
|
1%
|
Kensington and Chelsea
|
London
|
1%
|
South Cambridgeshire
|
East
|
1%
|
Source: Hamptons International
|
May-18
|
May-17
|
YoY
|
Greater London
|
£1,664
|
£1,650
|
0.9%
|
Inner London
|
£2,550
|
£2,565
|
-0.6%
|
Outer London
|
£1,496
|
£1,476
|
1.3%
|
South East
|
£1,036
|
£1,018
|
1.8%
|
South West
|
£784
|
£778
|
0.8%
|
East
|
£951
|
£923
|
3.0%
|
Midlands
|
£676
|
£661
|
2.2%
|
North
|
£622
|
£623
|
-0.1%
|
Scotland
|
£635
|
£626
|
1.4%
|
Wales
|
£668
|
£635
|
5.1%
|
Great Britain
|
£953
|
£940
|
1.3%
|
Source: Hamptons International
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