Blog | Cornwall Economy

Second properties – data from the English Housing Survey

Data from the English Housing Survey (EHS) (2021-2022), gives some information about the number of households in England with a second property. The data covers properties let in the rented market, holiday homes, holiday lets and some let for students or for the household when working away from home. The report indicates that there were some 3.33 million second properties owned by 885,000 households in England. The main category consisted of properties let out as part of t

rpwills

13 minutes ago2 min read

Cornwall - a paradise for the Airbnb Market but not so good for housing people!

The holiday industry always portrays Cornwall as some idyllic, coastal and rural retreat. An image which is at odds with life as lived by a lot of resident.s. “W hen it comes to UK staycations, Cornwall continues to be one of the top picks — and it’s easy to see why. With its rugged coastline, picturesque villages and postcard-worthy beaches, Cornwall attracts a steady stream of domestic travellers, particularly during spring and summer. In recent years, demand for rural a

rpwills

4 days ago2 min read

Holiday homes, second addresses, flows and visits - Cornwall

The census provides a number of datasets relating to holiday homes and visits to holiday homes. These add to the picture of what dwellings are used for. There are three sets of data used - listed in the sources section. Summary Type People Numbers Table Second addresses used as holiday homes Users 6,080 1c (1) Second addresses used as holiday homes All users 2,329 1e (2) Visitors to second address holiday home Users 14,230 1e (2) Second homes Owners 11,490 (3)

rpwills

6 days ago2 min read

Employee earnings 2025 – Cornwall compared

Data recently released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), provides details of employee earnings for the tax year ending 2025. [The figures are provisional]. The data sets give a comparison between home and workplace figures, the figures for home/resident based employees and finally for workplace based employees. In Cornwall, with the exception of part-time employees, the workplace figures are lower than for the home based. This reflects the fact that those who c

rpwills

Oct 283 min read

Holiday homes in Cornwall – who uses them?

Data from the 2021 census gives the number of visits to each local authority and the usual residence of the visitor. The data for Cornwall indicates that over half of users came from two regions – South West England (27.8%) and South East England (24.7%). Location by region Location of Usual residence Numbers % North East 40 0.3 North West 520 3.7 Yorkshire and The Humber 380 2.7 East Midlands 905 6.4 West Midlands 1650 11.6 East of England 955 6.7 London 2060 14.5 Sout

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Oct 241 min read

Stories or data – which approach gets the publicity?

Tim Harford in his latest episode of ‘Cautionary tales’ illustrates the impact of news stories which gave the impression that trick and treat in the United States is fraught with danger due to people deliberately trying to poison children with the reality revealed by analysis of the data – which is that such danger does not exist. The problem Tim Harford suggests is that people remember the story not the data. This raises a significant problem in that while a story may

rpwills

Oct 221 min read

Holiday homes - second homes, holiday homes and holiday home visits

As part of the 2021 census, the Office for National Statistics collected data on the number of second homes and whether individuals had a second address which was a holiday home. The latter covers any address where the individual stayed for at least 30 days per year. Local authority data has been modified so that areas within a county have been amalgamated. This results in more meaningful data making it possible to compare say Cornwall with Devon. Second homes Table one

rpwills

Oct 223 min read

Rising house values – just stop blowing up the balloon!

It’s commonly accepted that house prices have risen far faster than earnings making house purchasing a major problem for many particularly those on lower incomes. In 1986 the average house was valued at £36,000. If house prices had increased in line with inflation the average value would be £104,193. In 2024 the actual value was £334,000. The blame game Rising house prices are often used as an issue in discussing intergenerational inequalities, with baby boomers blamed for

rpwills

Oct 192 min read

Why property prices go up and what to do - Steve Keens take on the issue

Steve Keen the renowned Australian economist has analysed house price data for the United Kingdom. The problem “ House prices rose on average just 0.25% pre year faster than consumer prices between 1845 and 1979, but all of the increase came between 1960 and 1979, when prices rose by 1.75% per year. But after Thatcher came to power, the annual rate of increase in real house prices increased to 3% .” The cause Steve Keen identified deregulation of the mortgage market as a

rpwills

Oct 163 min read

Buy to let market – steady with millennials on the up

A recent report by Hamptons, a luxury estate and letting agency, gives an insight into the Buy to let market. Despite changes to taxes, they estimate that landlord purchases have remained stable at 11.3% in Q3 2025 compared to 11.2% in Q3 2024. However, they note that the spatial distribution has changed with lower shares than previously in London, SW England, SE England and the East of England but higher shares in North East England at 28.4%. They state that the change in

rpwills

Oct 131 min read