5. Statement by the Minister for Climate Change: Second Homes and Affordability

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:28 pm on 23 November 2021.

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Photo of Julie James Julie James Labour 4:28, 23 November 2021

The very short answer to that is 'yes, we do'. We are collecting a range of evidence already, and of course we'll be evaluating the pilot. I understand the evidence report that he's citing, but I think the evidence of our own eyes is just there for all to see. The house price boom that we're currently experiencing right across the UK and the very, very heated market in Wales is pricing people out of the market as we speak. You've only got to look at the local newspapers to see the increase in house prices and the speed with which the houses are being sold, sometimes to people who haven't even seen them. That's not being sold to people who want to live in those houses, that's being sold as an investment. One of the problems with the UK housing market is that it's not just a home, it is an investment, and that really does confuse the figures that we're looking at. So, the empty property figures that Janet Finch-Saunders mentioned, for example, include houses up for sale. So, it's very difficult to do that, but we are very determined to improve the data, and of course I just answered in response to Mabon that we will be evaluating the pilot very carefully, with a contract put in place to do just that.