An affluent suburb of Poole has been named the UK’s top coastal property hotspot by Rightmove.
The property website said Dorset’s Canford Cliffs saw asking prices jumping nearly a quarter (+24%) over the last year to more than £1.2m - more than any other seaside area in the country.
Brixham in Devon ranked second on the list (+23%), while Abergele, in Conwy in Wales, was third (+22%). The list was dominated by places in the South West but also included Skegness, in Lincolnshire, and Gorleston-on-Sea in Norfolk.
Since the start of the pandemic, there has been increased interest in coastal homes among buyers. But demand outstripping supply has contributed to rising prices in these areas.
The average time to find a buyer in a seaside location is now 33 days - in line with the national average - and homes in these locations are finding buyers 20 days quicker than last year, Rightmove said.
Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s director of property science, said: “Right at the start of the pandemic when the market re-opened, we saw a huge surge in demand for these coastal areas as people wanted a sea view or more space near the coast.
“There have been large periods where demand has greatly outstripped supply over the last couple of years which has contributed to the significant rise in asking prices we’re seeing today.”
Mr Bannister said there were “signs” of a better balance of supply and demand in seaside areas than a year ago as more stock was coming on to the market.
“We’d expect this to filter through to the market and potentially moderate the pace of price rises in the coming months,” he added.
Steve Isaacs, director at Luxury & Prestige Properties in Canford Cliffs, said his company had seen “really strong demand” from people looking to move to the area.
He said: “We’re seeing lots of people wanting to buy larger homes now that they spend more time working from home, and we’re also seeing new types of buyers looking in Canford Cliffs from outside the area now that their work has become more flexible.
“Whereas before the pandemic we had many people interested in a holiday home, now we’re seeing more people looking for a property they can comfortably spend a good portion of the year in and work.”
Mr Isaacs said Canford Cliffs was also attracting homebuyers looking for “easy access” to London.
He added: “We’ve had some buyers choose the area because of this.”
