Sixty per cent of Gwynedd’s residents can’t afford to buy a house there, according to new figures.

Gwynedd Council housing leader Cllr Craig ab Iago said the figures also suggest almost 40 per cent of properties sold in the county are used as second homes – the highest figure in Wales.

Plaid Cymru is calling for urgent action by Welsh Government to control this issue.

Measures include a new ‘second home’ property classification, and an immediate closure of the tax loophole that allows second home owners to opt out of paying council tax.

Cllr ab Iago cited figures recently published by Welsh Revenue Authority for March 2019 to April 2020 show that almost 40 per cent of properties sold in Gwynedd were purchased as second homes – the highest in Wales.

Cllr ab Iago says that properties in his ward are often marketed solely as second home opportunities by estate agents, and it is akin to “rubbing salt on a wound”.

According to data from Gwynedd Council’s housing department, an additional 811 houses are required each year in Gwynedd to meet current local demand, but with 830 houses “lost” as second homes, this creates a shortfall of 1,641 houses each year.

Plaid Cymru housing spokesperson Delyth Jewell MS says that the Covid-19 pandemic has brought a spotlight on the issue of second homes, saying its “crucial for a sense of community that local people aren’t priced out of their home” and calls for 50 per cent of all new housing stock to be reserved as social housing.

Siân Gwenllian, MS for Arfon, said: “Rising volumes of second homes causes many problems for communities – in pushing up house prices, leading to depopulation and threatens the sustainability of our communities for future generations.

"Yet, the Labour Welsh Government has failed to introduce any mechanism to protect our communities and our local housing stock.

“Introducing greater controls around the volume of houses that can transfer from being primary homes to second homes or buy-to-let holiday accommodation, and closing the council tax loophole, will help protect local communities and the income streams of local councils so that they can help meet local needs.

“Welsh Government does not yet have a handle on, nor shows the political will to tackle this problem. They have allowed this to escalate to a point where our communities are facing the perfect storm: a local housing crisis as the demand for social housing outstrips the supply, whilst the volume of second homes spirals out of control and house prices rocket beyond the reach of local people.

"Not only has Plaid Cymru shown the way, we certainly have the political will to solve this.”

Cllr ab Iago said: “Having a home and a roof over your head is a core principle that, in my view, is not being met by rigid, outdated Labour Government policies in Cardiff and the Tory policies in Westminster. The housing development and planning systems in Wales need to be overhauled.

“An example from my ward is of a converted chapel that an estate agent based in England put on the market for £400,000 as a second house or holiday home.

"The average salary for a Gwynedd resident is £16,000 a year. Promoting this former chapel, in this insensitive manner, is doing nothing, bar rubbing salt on a wound.”