One in five Spaniards owns a second home

Greeks have more second residences than Spaniards, with nearly a third of the population owning one, and Spain is also beaten in this respect by Poland and Turkey.

By contrast, only 5.4% of Germans own a second residence.

On average, one in six Europeans has more than one property, with Spain being above average at one in five.

A third of Europeans uses their other home for holidays, about a quarter for weekends, and 9% as a 'bolt-hole' when they are working away from their main home.

Rural areas, villages and small towns tend to be the most popular locations for a second or subsequent property – 44% of Spanish second-home owners have a house in the country and 37.3% in a village.

This type of property is more likely to be used for holidays (59.8% of cases) or weekends (35.3% of cases), with only 2.9% of Spain owning a second residence for work reasons.

Age bears a direct relationship to the number of second homes owned, with those aged between 40 and 49 more likely to do so, followed by the 30 to 39 age-group where 15.1% have an additional residential property.

Nearly a quarter – 23.6% - of Spanish city-dwellers were more likely to own a second residence, compared with those who already live in the country who account for 11.5% of those who do.

Income also has a large influence – of those Spaniards earning more than €4,000 a month, 43.3% of them owned, or were keen to own, a second property.