Top seaside hotspots for housebuyers

Bournemouth has been the most in-demand seaside hotspot for buyers in 2021, according to a property website.

Rightmove, which carried out the analysis, defined the most in-demand coastal areas as those which received the highest numbers of buyer enquiries made via its website in 2021. Southampton came in second, with Brighton third and Blackpool fourth.

Three Sussex towns made the top 10, with Eastbourne seventh, Worthing eighth and Hastings ninth.

Rightmove also identified Padstow in Cornwall as this year’s top coastal asking price hotspot, with the average asking price surging by a fifth (20%) compared with last year.

The significant price tag jump as demand for coastal properties booms could make getting on the housing ladder more of a struggle for some people.

Morecambe in Lancashire had the biggest jump in coastal buyer searches compared with last year (up by 32%), followed by Blackpool (21%), Great Yarmouth, Swansea and Saltburn-By-The-Sea in Cleveland (all 15%).

Saltcoats in Ayrshire, Scotland meanwhile was named as the coastal location where homes are typically snapped up most quickly – with properties finding a buyer in 19 days on average, 25 days quicker than the national average of 44 days.

Troon, also in Ayrshire, was second with an average of 22 days and Westward Ho, near Bideford in Devon, third at 24 days. Littlehampton and Goring-By-Sea, both in West Sussex, were equal sixth at 26 days each. Rightmove compared activity on its website between January 1 and November 24, 2021 with the same time period in 2020 to make the findings.

Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s director of property data, said: ‘After a year where coastal locations really captured the imagination of British buyers, it’s interesting to reflect on how the overall picture looks at the end of the year.

‘In terms of average asking price growth, homeowners in Cornwall and Devon are the real winners this year, with properties in some areas outpacing the national average, though this does mean that it is increasingly difficult for some locals to get onto the ladder.

‘The speed of this year’s market really is astounding, seen in the time to find a buyer in some areas, particularly in Scotland. ‘Overall, this has been the year that either through changed lifestyle priorities, or the ability to work remotely, living in coastal areas has become possible for more buyers, which is reflected in the data we’re seeing in this study.’