Re-positioning second homes within housing studies: household investment, gentrification, multiple residence, mobility and hyper-consumption

Abstract

This paper advocates a theorized approach to second home ownership, which previously has been largely ignored in housing studies or seen as a localized problem. The growth of housing wealth and extended spatial mobility in rich countries has generated explosive growth in the ownership of second (and more) homes with an increasingly transnational dimension. This raises concerns about the concept of the home as a special kind of place. The notion of “second” home is considered increasingly problematic owing partly to inherent definitional problems and partly to the growing ownership of multiple dwellings for leisure and leisure‐related investment purposes. The growth of second home ownership is conceptualized as a form of gentrification and international comparisons highlight distinctive differences between countries and over time. Household investment and consumption strategies, fuelled by greater mobility and hyper‐consumption capacities in rich countries, are seen to be at the core of this rapidly evolving phenomenon.