A poll of 1,470 adults in the UK by Nottingham Building Society found that nine per cent were looking into purchasing a holiday let property, while a fifth were open to it.
Investment in the sector has risen as the popularity of staycations has boomed, evident in the 52 per cent of respondents who own holiday lets saying they purchased them within the last two years.
The ability to use a holiday let is also appealing to investors, as 67 per cent say they and their family would use the property themselves once a year.
Around 29 per cent would consider trips to the location of their holiday let, and just four per cent would not consider using the holiday let themselves.
A tenth said buying a holiday let to eventually live in permanently was part of their retirement plans, while 56 per cent will consider this option.
Some 84 per cent who already owned holiday lets said they made more income from the investment in 2021 than they did in 2020, and nearly a quarter said that income had risen by 30 per cent or more.
Investors are also taking the cost-of-living crisis into consideration as more than half have reduced rents and just over a quarter have cut them by a fifth or more compared to the year before.
As for desirable areas to purchase a holiday let property, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland were the most sought after destinations for 23 per cent of respondents. This was followed by the South West at 17 per cent and London at 15 per cent.
Christie Cook (pictured), head of mortgage product at The Nottingham, said: “Buying holiday lets is an aspiration for many – with some planning to go on holiday there, a significant number planning to live there permanently in the future and others seeing them purely as an investment.
“The recent staycation boom has driven interest in UK holiday lets, particularly as the pandemic reintroduced people to the beauty of holidays in the UK.
“We were delighted to recently announce that we are now lending on holiday lets in England and Wales. Our advice to anyone planning to buy a holiday let would be for them to get in touch with an expert broker to assist in looking at their mortgage options.”
