Bad in Barnstable

[b]Second home syndrome comes home to roost in the south west.[/b]

The wave of repossessions hitting Devon and Cornwall is said to be largely because of three factors. Low wages, limited employment prospects and incoming retirees and second-homers who have pushed residential property prices through the roof.

The residential renting and letting market is under enormous pressure – or booming - depending on whether you are a landlord, agent, tenant or homeless family.

The situation is getting so bad that people are being forced to live in caravans on parks where legally the caravans should only be lived in for a limited period each year.

It was reported that an eviction court recently in picture-postcard Penzance dealt with fifty cases in a morning. Repossessions are up 40 per cent on last year.

A combination of lower than average wages and above average house prices has meant that many people have had to over-stretch themselves.

In north Cornwall, boasting beauty spots such as Bideford, the average wage is £23000 a year. But The Guardian newspaper says the average house price is 23 times that.

There’s a lobby in Cornwall which believes second-homers should either be banned altogether or punitively taxed with the money that is raised being used to fund affordable homes backed by government-sponsored mortgages.

Job prospects in the south west can be limited. There is a level of temporary work often linked to the ups and downs of tourism. Tourism is crucial but it’s an industry subject to such fickle vagaries as the weather which can determine the length and the propserity of the tourist season