The latest research from Rightmove has revealed that Canford Cliffs in Poole, Dorset, is Great Britain's top seaside price hotspot, with asking prices rising 24% over the last year.
Brixham in Devon is the second seaside price hotspot, with asking prices rising 23%, while Abergele in Conwy, Wales is third with a 22 rise.
Across all seaside locations in Great Britain, asking prices are up 13.9% on average compared to last year, outpacing the national average of 9.9%.
Competition for homes in seaside locations during the last year has meant the pace of the market has increased. The average time to find a buyer in a seaside location is 33 days, and on average, homes are finding buyers nearly three weeks (20 days) quicker than last year.
Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s Director of Property Science, comments: We’re in a unique position to be able to see activity across the whole of the market, which gives us a strong indication of how buyers are behaving in real-time. We know that demand, which we measure by enquiries to estate agents from prospective buyers on Rightmove, is often a lead indicator of price, and right at the start of the pandemic when the market re-opened, we saw a huge surge in demand for these coastal areas as people wanted a sea view or more space near the coast.
"There have been large periods where demand has greatly outstripped supply over the last couple of years which has contributed to the significant rise in asking prices we’re seeing today. Encouragingly, with new stock coming to market we are starting to see signs of a better balance of supply and demand in seaside areas than we were a year ago, and we’d expect this to filter through to the market and potentially moderate the pace of price rises in the coming months.”
Steve Isaacs, Director at Luxury & Prestige Properties in Canford Cliffs, said: “Like many coastal areas, we in Canford Cliffs have been incredibly busy for a long time, and we’re still seeing really strong demand to move to this part of Dorset. One of the key things we’ve noticed influencing moves is that working patterns have changed.
"We’re seeing lots of people wanting to buy larger homes now that they spend more time working from home, and we’re also seeing new types of buyers looking in Canford Cliffs from outside the area now that their work has become more flexible. Whereas before the pandemic we had many people interested in a holiday home, now we’re seeing more people looking for a property they can comfortably spend a good portion of the year in and work.
"With more demand than homes available we’ve seen strong competition between buyers which has contributed to a growth in prices. One advantage of Canford Cliffs is its easy access to London and other parts of Great Britain, and we’ve had some buyers choose the area because of this.”
