Homes by the sea are snapped up the fastest

COASTAL homes are selling weeks faster than they did in 2019, according to new figures, while some Cornish towns see interest – and prices – continue to climb.

New data from property website Rightmove has revealed that the average time it takes for a home in a coastal location across the UK to sell has dropped from 71 days to 51 days.

And people living in cities are now enquiring about coastal homes 115% more than they did in 2019, while asking prices have jumped 7% nationally, whereas inquiries about city properties have gone up by 5%.

According to Rightmove, Fowey in Cornwall saw a 111% increase in interest from would-be buyers. This shows the pretty resort town recording the third biggest increase in interest.

Padstow meanwhile has seen average asking prices rise by 24% – the second highest in the country – compared to 2019.

After a sudden boom in interest, from city dwellers, as the pandemic started, the beginning of 2021 saw Cornwall’s property market take off, Rightmove reports.

In a number of cases, locals have been being out-bid by wealthy buyers from upcountry. Landlords have also been selling up their rental properties to capitalise on the boom.

Nationally, house prices increased by 10% between May 2020 and May 2021, the highest annual growth rate since 2007, just before the financial crash.

In April to June, five houses sold for more than £1m in Cornwall. At the other end of the scale, four went for £75,000 or less. Rightmove director of property data Tim Bannister agreed that Cornwall and Devon had seen an explosion in popularity since the start of 2021. Mr Bannister predicted high prices would hold. “Asking prices have steadily risen, driven by buyer demand,” he said.

“But what’s really interesting about this research is that it suggests that the initial surge of people enquiring about locations outside of cities before the pandemic has transitioned into a more medium-term shift in behaviour.” Working from home has given buyers more flexibility about where to live.

Rupert Kirkwood Nature photogapher Rupert Kirkwood captured this picture of a minke whale near St Michael’s Mount