Second homes for students boost housing market

House sales have been boosted by parents buying properties for their children while they were at university, new research shows today. Around 83,000 homes were bought on behalf of students last year, a 26% increase since 2000, according to the study by finance firm Direct Line.

The number of houses occupied by students was predicted to reach 100,000 by the year 2010. The so-called university effect helped increase the number of 'second properties' to 2.6 million, up from 2.3 million five years ago. Around 1.6 million of the second properties were buy-to-let, while others included holiday homes and work bases.

Andrew Lowe, head of home insurance at Direct Line said: 'The continued boom in house prices, the rise in parents buying properties for their children and the growth in tele-working are among the key drivers of the UK's buoyant second properties market.'