The number of active holiday lets has increased by as much as 33% in some of England’s most popular short break destinations, with the increasingly popular holiday let mortgage helping to drive this significant market growth, research from Octane Capital has revealed.
The short-term holiday rental market has been thriving ever since the rise of Airbnb brought the sector to everyone’s attention.
The constant demand has led to more and more holiday rentals appearing on the UK market. In Q1 2021, across ten of the UK’s most in-demand holiday let destinations, there were a total of 99,314 active rentals on the market. By Q1 2022, this had increased to 100,551, a rise of 1.25%.
The biggest increase has been reported in the Lake District where the number of active rentals increased from 5,693 in 2021 to 7,591 in 2022 – a rise of 33.3%.
Strong annual growth has also been reported in the Peak District (25.2%), the Cotswolds (25%), Cornwall (24.1%), Devon (21.1%), Brighton (13.1%), and Liverpool (10.8%).
Three of the popular holiday let locations have, however, experienced an annual decline in the number of active rentals and these are all located within major cities – London (-17.1%), Newcastle (-11.6%), and Manchester (-1.7%).
Jonathan Samuels, CEO of Octane Capital, said: “Holiday lets offer a much more private and self-sufficient holiday experience than hotels provide. They provide more space and more freedom. So, it’s little wonder that the market is booming so much in most parts of the country.
“Because holiday lets are now the first choice for a huge swathe of the population, more and more people are thinking about ways to make money off the sector. Some people are simply opening up a spare room in their home, but others are buying new properties with the sole purpose of putting them on the holiday let market.
“While it’s an attractive idea, it’s one that requires careful consideration. The old idiom of location, location, location has never been more appropriate.
“If you can’t buy a property in a high demand short-term rental location, you’re going to really struggle to make any sort of profitable income in this sector.
“It’s about finding locations that offer the perfect balance between affordable purchase price and strong, reliable rental income. This is often easier said than done.”
