Cornwall has been ranked as one of the top hotspots in the UK for second homes.

Information collated by GetAgent.co.uk's research reinforces Cornwall's stature in an estimated £4.5bn market across England and Wales.

The research utilised the latest data from the Office for National Statistics on second home ownership levels, along with house price data from the Gov UK House Price Index.

The county tops the charts in terms of volume with 9,425 second homes currently located there.

GetAgent.co.uk CEO, Colby Short said: "There are some 141,245 second homes owned across England and Wales and while this equates to a minute proportion of total dwellings, the issue is that they are largely concentrated within certain areas of the market such as London and the South West."

Falmouth Packet: Cornwall tops the charts in terms of volume with 9,425 second homes

Semi-detached homes account for the smallest proportion of the second home property market, comprising only 13 per cent of market stock.

Furthermore, despite flats making up 42 per cent of all second homes, detached houses hold the greatest market value.

The average price of these detached homes across England and Wales currently stands at £478,744, resulting in a staggering total market value of £15.9bn for detached second homes alone.

Mr Short further elaborated on the status quo in Cornwall: "So it’s understandable that second homeownership is a contentious subject in areas such as Cornwall, where the local population feels they are priced out of the market by those driving up house prices when purchasing holiday homes that are rarely inhabited."

The total estimated worth of all second homes decks up to an astonishing £43.5bn, influencing housing affordability significantly in areas with high second-home ownership levels.

However, despite the high volume of second homes in Cornwall, the total market value is pegged at £3.1bn, following Kensington and Chelsea (£6bn) and Westminster (£4.2bn).

Mr Short concluded by saying: "You’d need only look at the average house price in areas with high second home ownership levels and the total value of the second home market to see the impact it’s having on housing affordability."