Recap of holiday home news: 17 November 2009
It’s time once again for our holiday home news round up. Here’s what’s been happening:
Unoccupied holiday homes in Wales targeted by arsonists – dailypost.co.uk
Police in North Wales are investigating arson attacks on two unoccupied holiday homes which appear to be connected. Fire crews were sent to the houses in Ty Croes and a few miles away at Pencarnisiog.
Police said there was nothing to suggest that the fires were related to any Welsh extremism. Nearly 30 years ago there were a wave of arson attacks against English-owned holiday homes in North and mid Wales, in response to houses bought as second homes pushing up property prices beyond the means of many locals.
Update:
Two local men have been arrested and released on bail pending further enquiries.
10 best ways to add value to your home
How can you make the most of your holiday home investment? Other than rental income, capital appreciation is what most investors hope to achieve. Although the article covers the 10 best ways to add value to a £2m property, the principles remain broadly the same for most homes.
10 best ways to add value to your home:
- Extending or updating your kitchen
- Converting your loft
- Adding a bedroom
- Adding or updating a bathroom
- Adding a glazed extension or conservatory
- Giving your home an external makeover
- Building a swimming pool or outdoor tennis court
- Adding a home cinema or gym
- Water frontage and/or fishing rights
- Adding outbuildings
Not all will be appropriate to your specific situation, but hopefully some of the investments could increase the market value of your holiday home.
Holiday rentals sees 40% growth – travolution.co.uk
The growth in the holiday rentals market was recently confirmed as HomeAway (which owns Holiday-Rentals and Owners Direct) claimed it increased revenue by 40% in the past year. They are also predicting similar growth for next year, with investments in revamping the UK and European sites, building the review section, plus a ‘Guestbook’ facility is also being added for owners to include tips and advice for holidaymakers.
The company is also in discussions over distribution partnerships in Europe and is increasing online marketing spend.
This is good news for holiday let owners. With HomeAway committed to increasing awareness of the benefits of renting holiday homes, and with $250 million in funding raised last year for ‘strategic investments’ – the holiday rental market is set to grow.
Holiday rental site HouseTrip launched – travolution.co.uk
In a market dominated by 3 holiday rental portals (Holiday-Rentals, Owners Direct and Holidaylettings) a new site HouseTrip has launched, but will it succeed where many others have failed.
The site seems to have some unique features which could differentiate its offering to owners:
-The site features an auction service for owners to put their property out to the
highest bidder which should be useful for attracting last minute bookings for empty
weeks.
-HouseTrip also provides a property management system and is currently free of
charge to list properties.
Whether the site succeeds though will depend on the bookings it generates for owners. One to watch maybe?
Google Street View in Europe – Spain, Portugal, France, Italy
Global Edge is reporting that Google’s street view program, which allows users to remotely view streets and properties in 360 degrees, has been rolled out across 80% of Spain.
Street View is also available in other European countries, including Portugal, France and Italy, but not to the extent as Spain.
Street View is a useful feature for both holidaymakers and second home investors who can view properties and selected areas remotely. How close is the beach, is the property overlooked?
For an example, see street view in Puerto Banus
To use street view visit Google maps, enter a location, zoom in and if it is available the man marker is yellow, not grey. Simply drag it onto the map to see street view.
In time I expect more areas to be rolled out across Europe.
Great summary on the holiday home news some shocking news especially the recent arsonist attacks…very scary.
Daniel
Hi Daniel,
Thanks for your comment. Although alarming, I expect it was a one off as the suspects were arrested.