Second homes in Veules-les-Roses: share of the housing stock

The share of second homes in Veules-les-Roses appears in the Insee communal dossier, which groups them together with occasional dwellings. This indicator describes the composition of the housing stock, but does not, on its own, provide information about prices or sales in the village.

To find out the proportion and how it has changed, you need to consult the tables devoted to dwelling categories and compare their results for the different census dates.

What is the share of the municipal housing stock?

The Insee communal dossier contains a table entitled “Categories of dwellings” (LOG T1bis). It allows you to consult the percentage associated with second homes and occasional dwellings in Veules-les-Roses.

The value must be read for the year sought and for the category as a whole. It does not distinguish the proportion of second homes alone from that of occasional dwellings.

The housing stock refers to dwellings recorded in the commune: it is not limited to properties offered for sale or rent. The proportion therefore gives an image of how dwellings are used, not of the property supply available at a given time.

To find the indicator, select the section of the file devoted to housing, then the LOG T1bis table. The row for second homes and occasional-use dwellings should be read alongside the year you are interested in. Its title and the date are part of the result: retaining them prevents the percentage from being given a meaning different from that of the statistic.

The dossier also presents the other categories in the housing stock. Consulting them helps place the proportion sought within the communal distribution, without reducing all dwellings to a single form of occupancy.

How should changes over time be read?

The LOG T1bis table presents the shares by category at different census dates. Comparing these dates shows whether the weight of second homes and occasional dwellings in the housing stock as a whole has increased, decreased or changed little.

The LOG T1 table provides another perspective: it shows how the number of dwellings in each category has changed over a historical period. To interpret a change, it is useful to look at both the counts and the proportions.

Indeed, a share can change because the number of dwellings in the category changes, but also because the housing stock as a whole changes. An increase in the proportion therefore does not, on its own, describe the number of additional dwellings.

The table results therefore answer distinct questions. The LOG T1bis table indicates the relative share of a category among the commune’s dwellings; the LOG T1 table allows its count to be examined. Before concluding that there has been an increase or decrease, the corresponding values must be recorded in the dossier and it must be specified whether the comparison concerns the share or the number.

A comparison between dates is not enough either to explain the reasons for a change. It describes a statistical change in the housing stock; it does not detail the decisions taken by owners or the property transactions that took place between the censuses.

What the Insee category covers

The statistical heading combines second homes and occasional dwellings. This grouping must be retained when reporting the result: attributing the entire percentage solely to holiday homes would give a narrower interpretation than that of the table.

This distinction is important for a seaside village such as Veules-les-Roses. Occupancy patterns may vary, and the communal data summarise a category of dwellings without individually describing the use of each property.

Similarly, the category cannot be used to count dwellings offered for holiday letting. The statistical classification of a dwelling and its possible use for letting address different questions.

To report a result, the most precise wording is therefore to include both elements of the category: second homes and occasional-use dwellings. Using only the term second home to refer to the entire value may suggest that Insee publishes, on this line, a separate figure for each use.

The data are also communal. They describe a group of dwellings in Veules-les-Roses and cannot determine the situation of a particular house or flat. Nor do they specify how frequently each dwelling in the category is occupied.

What these data say about the property market

The distribution of the housing stock helps to understand the place of different residential uses in the commune. It provides useful context for a property owner or buyer interested in a second home on the Alabaster Coast.

However, it is not sufficient to establish a price trend, measure buyer demand or determine the number of transactions. A dwelling recorded in the housing stock is not necessarily offered for sale.

The Cabinet Soudey notably offers country houses, longères, thatched cottages and flats for sale on the Alabaster Coast. Properties offered for purchase constitute a supply that should be considered separately from statistics covering all dwellings in the commune.

The two pieces of information concern neither the same group nor the same question. The census classifies dwellings in the housing stock by category; a sales listing concerns properties offered for purchase. It would therefore be misleading to infer the proportion of second homes in the commune from the number of properties offered, or the number of available properties from the communal percentage.

Similarly, a change in the share of second homes and occasional dwellings does not, on its own, allow you to conclude that prices are rising or falling. To discuss prices or sales, information actually covering these subjects is required.

Comparing figures without confusing them

Before selecting a percentage, check the commune, year and line heading. To study changes, use results of the same type: percentages with percentages, then numbers of dwellings with numbers of dwellings.

It is also necessary to distinguish the census year from the date on which the dossier was published. The communal results available in the dossier relate in particular to the 2023 census; they do not necessarily describe the state of the housing stock on the date of consultation.

Finally, comparing Veules-les-Roses with another area requires recording the same category and the same year. The result remains a statistical snapshot: without other information, it cannot explain why the proportions differ.

To make it easier to read, you can note separately the area, the year, the category name and the nature of the value recorded. This check is useful when consulting several tables in the file: a count and a percentage may concern the same category while providing different information.

The dossier also states that some indicators may not be provided for reasons of statistical confidentiality. A blank cell must not be interpreted as meaning that the number of dwellings is zero. The table notes should be checked before using or comparing the result.

Insee also states that the historical data concerned are established using an identical geographical boundary. This detail matters when interpreting changes: the comparison concerns a territory defined according to the geography indicated in the dossier, not boundaries assumed to differ from one date to another.

Frequently asked questions