Estate Bradley Start informed the BBC, that interest in purchasing second homes in a popular West Country resort has gone off a cliff. Mr Start, a second-generation estate agent in the family business, reveals that more people are hoping to sell than purchase second homes. Nationally 70% of councils now invoke their new power to penalise second home owners with a doubling of the annual charge. The impact has begun to sink in. The resort of Newquay has hundreds of new build high-end apartments either in the pipeline, under construction or ready for sale. The new rules have thrown a spanner into the plans of developers, owners, and prospective buyers. Apartments, are subject to maintenance charges often in excess of £2000 per annum, in addition to the usual utility costs. On top of this doubling a Band D Council charge means £2,342.54 becomes £4685.08 each year. This statistic is making many question the affordability of second home ownership.  increasing the cost of using a second home as a furnished holiday let have also come into effect this month.
However, Mr Start said he feared former holiday homes would not be attractive to people trying to get on to the housing ladder.
"A two bedroom apartment on a cliffside with a sea view but no amenities is not going to suit a first time buyer for price or what it can offer," he said.
According to Cornwall Council, it has 14,000 second homes and 20,000 folk on the housing waiting list, but the suitability of high end apartments for accommodating homeless families is doubtful. However, what is not in doubt is an extra £23 million to the local authority. How this money is to be allocated is undecided.