Cost of living crisis pushes demand for park homes - claim

A park home specialist provider claims demand for that niche property increased significantly in the second quarter of this year.

The Quickmove Properties Demand Index measures demand for park homes in England: this is calculated by measuring the number of park homes currently listed on the market against those already sold subject to contract. 

For example, if there are 100 homes on the market and 50 are SSTC, demand is 50 per cent. 

So Quickmove claims that demand for park homes across England rose during the second quarter to 21 per cent from the first quarter’s figure of 19 per cent.

Regional demand is at its highest in the South West (26 per cent) followed by the South East and West Midlands (both 25 per cent - and the latter up from 19 per cent early in 2023.)

Quickmove sales director Mark O’Dwyer says: “Silver downsizers are selling their bricks and mortar homes, purchasing a more suitably-sized park home, and then using the remaining cash to dive headfirst into the joyful and community-focussed lifestyle that comes with park home living. 

“This is especially true for people of retirement age who are clamouring for a better quality of life after decades of working, saving and paying to maintain a traditional family house. 

“In many cases, the leftover funds from their bricks and mortar home are used to boost retirement or handed down to children and grandchildren. This is a valuable form of living inheritance, especially during this difficult economic time when younger generations are finding it incredibly, perhaps unfairly, hard to get a foot on the property ladder.”