Second Home Owners

Echoing a nationwide phenomenon, young people and families are finding it increasingly hard to get on the property ladder and remain in their local communities.

The question is what came first? Second home owners or empty 'ghost villages'. See - www.second-homes.org. These chaps think second home owners are keeping villages alive by ensuring homes in the region are well maintained and not left to rot, empty of inhabitants. Villages that were once primarily fishing based communities are now tourist based.

Tell that to thousands of families in the region that are forced to move on due to soaring prices.

And what about business? Well that depends on how you see the Devon and Cornwall of the future. Second home owners are great for the tourist industry, with it's obvious drawbacks. But is tourism all that the region is about?

More work must be done to create a dialogue between second home owners and local people. Maybe a little mutual understanding could go a long way.