39% were looking for second-hand housing
13% of house purchases in Spain are for second homes, according to the report “Profile of the second home buyer in Spain”, by fotocasa.
Second homes are the second most popular reason for buying a property. The most popular reason is of course for a primary residence with 75% of sales being for that reason.
Buyer Profile
The report shows in detail the profile of the average second home buyer in Spain last year. 57% of those buying a second home are men with a mean age of 46 years. 29% are over the age of 55, while 27% are between 35 and 44 years old. 25% are between 45 and 54 years, while only 14% are between 25 and 34 years old.
When looking at the type of housing they consider, 39% were looking for second-hand housing with 5% preferring to look at new property. 56% had no preference between new and second-hand.
Of those who went ahead with the purchase, 87% bought a second-hand property (over a year old), while 10% bought a new (completed) property. Only 3% bought a property off-plan or under-construction.
As for the area, 21% of those who bought or sought to buy second-hand housing as a second home last year were from Madrid, 17% from Andalusia, 13% from Catalonia, 8% from the Basque Country and another 8% from Valencia. The other 33% were from other autonomous communities.
To Rent or Not to Rent?
Over a third of buyers (34%) bought their second home with the intention of placing it in the rental market for short-term/holiday lets. A further 7% intend to offer their property for long-term rentals, while the remaining 59% have no plans to rent their property.
Those who do plan to rent out their property on a short-term basis say they are doing so mainly for profit rather than to help pay the mortgage.
“Most people who bought or looked for a home to buy as a second home in the last year do not plan to rent it (59%). But among those who do plan to do so, the owners who rent it as a vacation home (34%) will outnumber those who will do so as residential rent (7%),” explains Beatriz Toribio, head of Studies at fotocasa.
“This is one of the factors that is causing rental prices to rise strongly, as the high returns that the owners perceive in relation to tourist rental, leads them to opt for this rent instead of the residential one and that reduces the offer of the latter”.
Those who purchased a second home but have no plan to offer it for rent say the reason is that they plan to use the property with their family and do not want tenants to “ruin” their property.
Looking for your own second home? Contact us today and we’ll help you find the right one.
