HomeAway and Savills release study on second homeowners

New study suggests Spain to be top choice of both domestic and foreign homeowners looking to buy a second home.

According to an international study* prepared by the real estate consultant Savills and HomeAway®, a global expert platform for vacation rental, Spain is an attractive destination for domestic and foreign second-home owners. 95% of Spaniards surveyed have their second residence in national territory. In addition, Spain is also a popular destination among European owners since 16% of Britons have their property located in Spanish territory (the second most popular destination after France), as well as 3% of French owners, 2% of Italians or 1% of Portuguese owners.

Radiography of the second residence in Spain

According to the Second Homes study on global trends in property and rental sector, the main reasons for Spanish owners to rent their second home when they do not use it are: as a secondary source of income (37%), to cover the cost of maintenance (31%) and to help cover the payment of the mortgage or its taxes (17%). Only 9% claim to rent it as their main source of income.

In addition, the report indicates that almost half of Spanish respondents finance their second property with a mortgage (45%), 28% finance it personally and 17% inherit it. Of those who own a mortgage, 45% cover it between 80% -100% of their payment by renting their second property to travelers, 18% cover only between 40% -60% and 16% cover less than 20% of the mortgage payment.

Along these same lines, the majority of respondents will continue to rent their house for five years (83%) and do not plan to acquire another holiday home (79%).

Regarding the average duration of the travelers' stay, almost half of the Spanish owners surveyed (45%) affirm that it's between one and two weeks, 13% affirm that their stay is six nights and 12% are say their stay is two nights.

Essential factors when acquiring another property

If in the future they consider acquiring another property for holiday use, most respondents (85%) will opt for that located near the main thoroughfares and transportation points, 67% go for good access to services and, in addition, they also consider the fact that they are close to their place of residence (59%).

Essential factors when choosing a vacation rental by travelers

The study also includes important factors that the traveler takes into account when booking a home: that the house is close to restaurants (84%) and grocery stores (82%), are important services for Spanish travelers at the time of renting a holiday home. Other aspects such as location of the property in the city center (60%), near a pharmacy (53%) or with a good transport network, are also important factors in the decision.

On the other hand, regarding housing reservation policies, 93% of Spanish travelers surveyed consider the comments of the property important, that they have the option of instant booking (85%) and the possibility of canceling 24 hours in advance with the full refund (72%). These indicators allow to adapt their criteria when acquiring a second home or improve their services to meet the needs of travelers and thus obtain more reservations.

^{*Savills World Research surveyed 7,800 owners and 6,800 HomeAway travelers in the top ten markets (United Kingdom, United States, Spain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, New Zealand and Brazil)}

SOURCE Savills
Edited by V. Haviland

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