Second homes in the Spanish housing market: one market or two?

This paper explores the relationship between primary and secondary homes in the overall Spanish housing market against the background of conflicting views on the nature of this relationship. Some of the theoretical arguments in favour of the independence of the two sectors are critiqued and a series of research questions on the precise nature of any relationship are posed. In answering these questions, a range of empirical data for different spatial scales is examined. It is concluded that, for indigenous Spaniards, the two sectors of the housing market are inter-related in various ways and that the most significant contemporary dichotomy in the Spanish housing market may be between Spaniards and foreigners rather than between primary and second homes.