Local demand for holiday homes in the Spanish interior is catching up with demand for second homes on the coast, reveals an annual survey of house hunters.
49% of holiday-home hunters surveyed by the Spanish real estate servicer Aktua said they are looking inland and away from the coast, suggesting an important shift in Spanish demand that has traditionally focused heavily on homes near the beach.
A year ago the same survey revealed the percentage of house hunter looking for second homes on the coast was 62%, and those looking inland was 38%, so there has been a double-digit shift in demand towards the interior and away from the coast.
Of those looking in the interior today, 25% are looking for a property in a city or town, and 24% are interested in a country property.
The same research reveals that some 23% of Spanish households own a second home, whilst 10% are hoping to buy one, and 67% neither own nor ever plan to buy a second home.
Of those who already own a second home, 19% are planning to sell it, down from 30% a year ago, suggestion less distress in the market and owners better placed to wait for prices to recover further.
The typical second-home owner in Spain is 50 years or older, married with kids, and lives in a city of 200,000 inhabitants or more. The biggest group of second home owners live in Catalonia (18%) followed by Andalucia (17%), and Madrid (16%).
Curiously, 17% of second home owners in Spain live in rented accommodation when it comes to their main home.
