Should we continue to invest in second homes?

The weather for real estate is more than uncertain. Second homes, which 40% of French people dream of, according to luxury real estate group Mercure, are no exception to the rule. In France we have just under 4 million (3.7 million to be exact or 9.8% of the total housing stock) according to INSEE. This is almost twice as much as 40 years ago. The Covid-19 crisis has given a second life to second homes, which are a little busier than in the past, thanks to the semi-main residence concept, which began to develop two and a half years ago. In other words, more and more households, including those in their thirties or forties, are moving into their second home, no longer for a few days a year, but rather for full weeks of leisurely telecommuting while enjoying the invigorating countryside air.

According to INSEE, the dynamics are clearly in favor of second homes (+62% since 1982) and… vacant apartments (+64.6%). Main settlements, in turn, decreased further (+55%). So it’s no surprise that, like empty dwellings, second homes have become cash cows for communities. ” Mayors are faced with the dilemma of continuing to make these areas, with high concentrations of second homes, attractive, without allowing them to become ghettos for the rich and empty for much of the year.“, explains Pierre Madec, economist of the French Conjunctural Observatory…