Despite Cornish local authorities increasing taxes and voting to ban new builds being sold as second homes, there’s been an increase in the number of holiday properties in the county.

New government figures show Cornwall now boasts over 14,000 second homes, some 7.5% up on a year ago. 

Under government statistical rules, ‘second homes’ applies to furnished properties that aren’t classified as a main residence – this includes holiday rentals like Airbnbs and long-term empty second homes. 

Cornwall is well ahead of second place North Yorkshire trailing with 8,572, and Kensington and Chelsea third with 7,667. 

Nationwide, the trend of acquiring a second property is on the ascent, with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government reporting a total of 279,870 second homes across England – that’s an increase of 16,552 from 2023, and a substantial jump of 22,957 since 2022, translating to 8.9% growth over two years.