The state of the luxury villa holiday market in Europe: lessons from the 2006 season.
The end of the year is statistics time. In the spirit of Glasnost and for the delight of our competitors, here is what it tells us about the state of the world:
Demand for holiday villas in France is up.
Demand for villas in Spain is down.
Demand for villas in Portugal is about level.
It is generally accepted throughout the industry that the glory days of the 2001 season have still to return. We think that Portugal and Spain are oversupplied with holiday villas, especially Spain: this story highlights the extent of villa construction. To some extent, we wonder whether those who are
interested in villas in Spain now own one. Construction on the Cote d’Azur is still relatively regulated compared to the Iberian peninsular, which goes some way to explaining the lack of availability: we had nothing to offer those who booked late in summer 2006.
This year we predict that some owners will be more reluctant to let because of the Portuguese tax and tourism authorities’ new rules (of which more tomorrow.)