Second homes as an opportunity for reducing housing vacancy in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen?
management summary - Ronald van Leeuwen
January 2012
Second homes or part-time houses are increasingly being mentioned as an opportunity to reduce housing vacancy in demographically
declining regions. In this study, the opportunities for the Dutch shrinking region Zeeuws-Vlaanderen have been studied by comparing the demand for second homes with the supply of vacant houses. The study concludes there is a strong relationship between the demand for second homes and the presence of the shore. Because of this, the second home demand is limited to a relatively small part of the region. Furthermore, the majority of the vacant houses do not meet the needs of people in search of a second home. Since second home searchers increasingly put higher demands on houses, it is expected this mismatch between demand and supply will only grow larger in the future. Therefore, policy-makers are advised not to expect too much of second homes (i.e. part-time houses) as a solution to reduce housing vacancy in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen
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