Whitby is now the UK's most popular seaside location for house hunters

Rightmove have now revealed that the town is now the most popular coastal location in the whole country for house hunters using their website.

With an average property price of £213,000, Whitby's popularity is partly explained by its affordability compared to resorts in the desirable south-west of England.

Whitley Bay, near Newcastle, was in second place following a recent renaissance and regeneration of the Tyneside coastline.

There were 350,000 searches for properties in Whitby in May, an increase of 25 per cent compared to the same month last year.

Despite Whitby's long association with retirees and second home-owners, local estate agents report that there is high demand for larger properties suitable for young families looking to relocate permanently for a better work-life balance.

House prices in the town have also risen around four per cent in the past year.

Nick Henderson, who runs an agency in Whitby, said: “Since we re-opened 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.

His clients' priorities included outdoor space and sea views. There were also increases in enquiries for holiday homes.

The rest of Rightmove's top 10, based on May searches, was made up of hotspots such as Padstow, Newquay and Bude in Cornwall, and Salcome and Ilfracombe in Devon. Ayr and Troon in Scotland also made the list, with their prestigious golf links listed as a factor drawing in buyers.

Whitby's rise in prominence comes despite its notoriously poor transport links - there is no motorway connection and local trains run only to Middlesbrough. Travelling to London by rail, with changes at Middlesbrough and York, takes five hours.

Mr Henderson added: “One of the great things about Whitby is that there’s usually something going on all year round, it’s not just when the sun is shining. Holiday homes have always been popular, often apartments or cottages that have been refurbished to an incredibly high specification, 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.”

Yet two seaside towns within close proximity of Whitby were listed as among the cheapest coastal locations in the country in which to buy a property. Redcar and Scarborough have seen only small rises in property values over the past year, but are both within reasonable driving distance of Whitby.