ABSTRACT
The growth of second home ownership is symptomatic of social change across societies as a whole, which acts to generate the motivation for this particular consumption good and dictates where effective demand may be realised. These socio-economic processes make growth in second home ownership possible but do not necessarily explain why growth has become a reality. Second homes, unlike other recreational consumption goods may serve both short-term and long-term objectives; in the short-term, they may be transformed into a first home or a place to retire. The notion of ‘importing’ and ‘exporting’ regions was coined by A. W. Rogers and provides a useful framework for understanding the origins of the growth in second home demand. In Britain and elsewhere, this process is largely responsible for the recent ‘maturity’ of the second home phenomenon, where the supply of surplus rural dwellings is exhausted and second home seekers may be brought into direct conflict with local people for existing housing.
