Whitby tops list of most in-demand coastal towns in which to buy a home

In a recent article on its website, Rightmove stated agents have been reporting an increased demand for holiday homes and cite families looking for a new lifestyle now they’ve realised they can work from home as a reason for the jump.

Whitby beat off strong competition from Whitley Bay, Cornish towns Padstow, Newquay and Bude, and Salcombe and Ilfracombe in Devon to be the most desirable place to start a new life.

The Scottish towns of Ayr and Troon also appear on the list, alongside Caister-on-Sea in Norfolk.

While the in-demand towns are relatively well spread around the country, the research has also highlighted incredible disparities in price between coastal properties in the North and South of the UK.

The figures show a difference of more than £1 million between the cheapest and most expensive areas in the UK, with Sandbanks in Poole having an average asking price of over £1.2 million, while Newbiggin-by-the-sea in Northumberland is the cheapest with average asking prices of just over £100,000.

Scarborough sits seventh on the cheapest coastal locations list, with an average asking price of £172,332.

Nick Henderson, Director of Hendersons estate agents in Whitby, said: “One of the great things about Whitby is that there’s usually something going on all year round, it’s not just when the sun is shining.

“Since we reopened a few weeks ago we’ve been selling bigger homes a lot more quickly than before, as families are changing the way they live and are swapping a ten minute commute into the office for a ten minute walk to the beach instead.

“Holiday homes have always been popular, often apartments or cottages that have been refurbished to an incredibly high spec, but again there’s been a surge in recent weeks for these as people choose to make an investment now, so they have somewhere for a staycation over the next few years instead of going abroad.”

Rightmove property expert Miles Shipside explained that lockdown has given many home-hunters time to reassess what they want from their next move.

He said: “Having the chance to look out your window to a sea view is something many home-hunters tell us is a dream of theirs. This means that the properties that do offer this are able to charge a premium compared to those in-land.

“Seaside towns in Great Britain have always had wildly different property prices, with some of the most expensive places to live outside London being in coastal areas like Sandbanks and Salcombe, while other coastal locations have prices of only £100,000.

“Lockdown has changed what a number of home-hunters are now looking for from their next home, and while some are looking for more space or a bigger garden, others are now contemplating a move to the seaside.”

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