The changing ecology of Australian second homes

Authors

  • Chris Paris Emeritus Professor of Housing Studies University of Ulster

Keywords:

Shacks, Unoccupied dwellings, seasonality, investment, mobility

Abstract

The paper aims to provide a critical evidence-based assessment of the changing nature of second homes in Australia. It conducts a comparative historical analysis of the evolution of second homes in Australia and the emergence of the holiday rental industry. There was widespread second home ownership in Australia by the 1960s, primarily for private family use, largely involving self-construction of modest cottages or ‘shacks’. There has been much less growth of second home ownership by 2014 than was predicted in the 1970s, but the sector has become increasingly focused in coastal areas, moved significantly up-market, and emerged into a hybrid form of dwelling ownership involving use for both leisure and investment. The paper demonstrates a need to reconceptualise the nature of second homes in Australia and elsewhere as items of private consumption and commercial investment.

Author Biography

Chris Paris, Emeritus Professor of Housing Studies University of Ulster

Chris Paris, FAcSS, is Emeritus Professor of Housing Studies, University of Ulster. He has held senior academic posts in the UK and Australia and was a Research Fellow in the Centre for Housing, Urban & Regional Planning at Adelaide University in 2013 and 2014. He is author of 30 books, monographs and research reports and over 100 journal publications, mainly in urban studies and housing, including Affluence, Mobility and Second Home Ownership (Routledge, 2011). 

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Published

2018-01-16

How to Cite

Paris, C. (2018) “The changing ecology of Australian second homes”, e-Review of Tourism Research, 14(3/4). Available at: https://ertr-ojs-tamu.tdl.org/ertr/article/view/93 (Accessed: 29 March 2024).