"Is this price deficit explained by our British aversion to public nudity? Or is it the case that our nudist friends have been forced to find beaches away from the cut and thrust of major tourist and family hotspots?"
With the people of Britain hoping that a long, hot summer is just around the corner, we’re going to be descending on our favourite beaches in droves. But while most will be looking for sunny spots to paddle, eat ice cream, and build sandcastles, some of us have more specific beach requirements, namely the freedom to strip completely nude without fear of judgement.
Barrows and Forrester have analysed house prices in the outcode areas of 39 of Britain’s best nudist beaches and compared them to prices in the wider local authority (LA) areas to reveal how living close to a nudist beach can impact local house prices.
The results show that, on average, homes close to nudist beaches cost £308,476 compared to a wider LA district average of £324,450. This means living within a stone’s throw of a nudist beach will see your home command -£15,974, or -5%, less than the wider area.
In fact, of the 39 nudist beach postcodes analysed, 25 are home to a below-average house price when compared to the wider local authority.
The worst hit location is the YO11 outcode area, home of Cayton Bay’s nudist beach. Here, the average outcode house price of £152,187 is -£131,500 below the wider North Yorkshire average of £283,687. This marks a nudist beach house price reduction of -46%.
Property in the LA14 outcode area, home to the nudist beach at West Shore Walney Island, is also -46% cheaper than the wider LA district of Westmorland and Furness, while KY8’s Lower Largo and PO4’s Eastney have house prices -36% below the respecting LA averages.
Meanwhile, homes close to Corton Sands in NR32 cost £201,250 which is -34% cheaper than the wider LA average of £307,026.
However, some nudist beaches are actually home to very impressive house price premiums, not least Moor Sands in TQ8 where an average price of £739,455 is a whopping 89% higher than the wider South Hams LA average of £392,055.
Wells and Holkham nudist beaches in NR23 command a house price premium of 56%, while Cornwall’s Porthzennor Cove and Porth Kidney both command premiums of 19%.
Managing Director of Barrows and Forrester, James Forrester, commented:
“If you go down to the beach today, you’re in for a big surprise! I’m talking, of course, about the fact that local house prices could well be much cheaper than you expect, but only if there is a nudist colony nearby.
"Is this price deficit explained by our British aversion to public nudity? Or is it the case that our nudist friends have been forced to find beaches away from the cut and thrust of major tourist and family hotspots?
"Either way, this could be a neat little trick for homebuyers who are desperate to live in a coastal location but want to avoid the price premiums typical of such places, just so long as you don’t mind seeing more than you bargained for while walking the dog each morning.”
