Second homes show sharp rise amid big slump in holiday lets

TREND COMES DESPITE PREMIUM TAX BEING IMPOSED

- By ANDREW FORGRAVE Countryside and Tourism Editor

SECOND-HOME numbers in Gwynedd are soaring again despite drastic measures to curb their growth.

Numbers are now back up to roughly the same level before council tax premiums were hiked to 100% in 2021.

Mirroring their rise has been a slump in the number of holiday lets in the county.

Almost all of the sector's pandemic-fuelled growth has been wiped out, the downturn matching the Welsh Government's introduction of its 182-occupancy rule in April 2023.

While some former holiday lets have reverted to primary residences, many more have been turned into second homes, accounting for their resurgence.

But in an impact analysis, Cyngor Gwynedd said its council-tax policies stemmed what might otherwise have been a much bigger second-homes rise.

In contrast, existing 100% council-tax premiums appear to be having little effect on the number of long-term empty properties in Gwynedd.

It was for this reason that the council's cabinet last week agreed to hike empty-home premiums to 150%. The decision is expected to be rubber-stamped during a full council meeting on December 4.

Prior to 2021, second-home numbers in Gwynedd were "quite stable," at around 4,900-5,000. Following successive council-tax increases from 50% to 100% and then up to 150%, numbers fell to about 4,200 by January 2024.

Most of the reductions came immediately after the premiums were hiked but some falls were seen before. Cyngor Gwynedd surmised some second-home owners sold up because they saw the writing on the wall.

But in the past 19 months, second homes have been on the rise again.

The report stated: "From January 2024, the number of (chargeable) second homes has been increasing rapidly and has now reached close to the level which existed in early 2021 (around 4,850). There is a suggestion in the latest data that the increase may be slowing slightly - but the increase is continuing to some extent."