Second home sales have fallen off a cliff, according to new analysis of property transactions, and owners are said to be selling up to avoid hefty tax increases. According to one Welsh property expert, many owners have "panicked" and sold up after the Welsh Government announced council tax increases and new measures to require properties to be let for a minimum of 182 days to qualify for business rates.
A record 26,290 second properties were purchased in 2021 as homeowners spent their lockdown savings and investors rushed to take advantage of enormous demand for domestic holidays, according to Hamptons analysis of data from Countrywide, one of Britain’s largest property groups. However, by 2022 the tide had turned. The number of second homes purchases dropped to 20,340 last year – a fifth lower than the 25,600 sales in 2019, the last normal year for the property market before the pandemic.
Read more: Estate agent says second home owners in Wales are already selling up over council tax hike
