Homes cause splash
IT’S a sign of the times when people choose where they want to live because of Instagram. Towns or cities with more than 100,000 Instagram posts are popular with home movers because it shows “community, pride of place, tourism and character” according to an estate agency’s survey.
But the real story here is that if residents can post pictures on social media, then the broadband is good and that’s now essential for the majority of those looking to move, partly because so many people now work from home.
According to the study by property search specialists Strutt & Parker, 57 per cent of movers put good broadband at the top of their wishlist – up from 48 per cent in 2013.
Director of research Vanessa Hale explains: “When we look back at the past five years of Housing Futures survey results, a clear pattern emerges showing that homebuyers have an ever-increasing desire to be connected; connected to good local shops and amenities, connected to work via convenient public transport, connected digitally to the internet.
“Digital connectivity is now seen as essential for the majority of movers. Likewise, public transport connectivity was a big consideration – up from 37 per cent to 48 per cent – and more people want to walk to work, up from 25 per cent to 36 per cent.
“It is a delicate balance to strike – we want shops and cafes and train stations within walking distance but we don’t necessarily want everything that city life brings, such as dense terraced housing or high density flats with smaller living spaces.”
This search for a better work/life balance is increasingly leading people to waterside locations, too. Strutt & Parker’s 2018 Waterside Survey reveals that 41 per cent of adults want to move to be near the water before the age of 35 and 73 per cent of under-45s regard living by the water as an obtainable aim, although over-45s are not nearly as optimistic.
Improved broadband and the rise in flexible working means more people can earn a living without ever going to an office.
Richard Speedy, head of Waterside at Strutt & Parker, says: “Waterside living has so much to offer, inspiring a more active outdoors lifestyle and a really sociable environment for spending time with friends and family.
“This year it’s been interesting to see that more people – 15 per cent, up from seven per cent in 2017 – are being lured to the on the beachfront at Bracklesham Bay near Chichester, in West Sussex.
The Old School House overlooks the harbour at the north Wales town on the River Dyfi estuary, where there are golden sand dunes and views over to Snowdonia National Park.
An award-winning conversion of the Victorian school in the 1990s created a character family home with Gothic windows, oak floors and striking fireplaces. It has four bedrooms, one with an ensuite shower room, and a family bathroom and is for sale at £650,000 (01743 284200; struttandparker.com).
In Bracklesham the first-floor apartment at Bourne Court is right on the shingle beach between West Wittering and Selsey. It’s ideal for surfing and kite surfing, with a community centre at Bracklesham Barn that has fitness classes and film nights.
For sale at £465,000 (01243 832600; struttandparker.com), the flat has an open-plan living room and kitchen with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, as well as views over the English Channel.
Strutt & Parker’s Waterside Survey showed that coastal regions were the most popular location, followed by lakes and lochs then rivers and estuaries. Docklands were up from one per cent in 2017 to seven per cent in 2018.