Whitley Bay property boom
WHITLEY Bay is one of the most in-demand seaside locations in the UK right now, according to a new study.
Property website Rightmove said the North Tyneside town is the country’s second most sought-after coastal location following a big surge in interest since the easing of the lockdown.
Local experts believe the boom is being fuelled by buyers looking for a lifestyle change after a tough start to the year and plotting ‘staycations’ should foreign travel remain tricky for some time to come.
According to estate agents in the area, interest is being driven in part by arrivals from other parts of the country and the buying up of second homes. Whitley Bay, which has an average house price of £263,078, was second only to Whitby on the list of post-lockdown property hotspots.
Rightmove compared the volumes of people inquiring about homes for sale between mid-May to mid-June with the number of available properties and the general size of seaside locations to work out which places were most in demand.
Susan Usher, branch manager of Your Move in Whitley Bay, said: “The regeneration of Whitley Bay in recent years has brought people back who lived here in the past.
“It’s also very popular with younger families as they can send their children to outstanding schools and have beautiful beaches on their doorstep.
“Since the market reopened in mid-May we’ve had an increase in people looking to move here from places like York and the south, plus home hunters considering an apartment they can buy as a second home to holiday in.
“It’s been quite staggering the number of applicants we’ve had in recent weeks, with a number of properties going for above asking prices, both for luxury apartments and lovely Victorian homes.”
Commenting on Rightmove’s findings, Nick Henderson, director of Hendersons estate agents in Whitby said: “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 10-minute commute into the office for a 10-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,” added Mr Henderson.
Rightmove’s property expert Miles Shipside said while somepeople are looking for more space or a bigger garden, others are now contemplating a move to the seaside.