Why Bridlington house prices are rising as first-time buyers flock to the East Yorkshire coast
With its miles of promenade, sandy beaches and a picturesque working harbour, the East Yorkshire coastal town of Bridlington has long been a firm favourite with downsizers and retirees.
And now, it’s becoming a top spot for first-time buyers. According to recent research by property portal Rightmove, Bridlington has witnessed the joint-highest price rise for first-time-buyer properties in the whole of Great Britain.
Across Great Britain, the average asking price for a typical first-time buyer property with up to two bedrooms is now £228,048, which is 0.7 per cent lower than last year.
Bridlington (£167,321) and St Helens in Merseyside (£133,106) lead the way, with average asking prices up 18 per cent compared to last year.
All of the fastest-growing locations in the analysis remain below the £170,000 asking price mark. Rightmove says this reflects the fact that demand remains high for homes achievable for first-time buyer budgets.
“Lower-cost locations are still seeing strong interest, with competition for homes helping to hold prices up,” says Colleen Babcock, Rightmove’s property expert.
“In more expensive markets, tenants [first-time buyers living in rented accommodation] are taking a bit more time and thinking more carefully about what they can afford, which is keeping growth relatively flat.”
First-time buyers Jasmine Whatling, 23, who works in education, and her partner, Arnie Tindall, 21, a joiner, are spending more than the average Bridlington first-time-buyer, having reserved a £209,995 three-bedroomed semi-detached house on Keepmoat’s Salkeld Meadows development, it was affordability that attracted them to buy in the town.
“It’s a lot cheaper than other areas nearby, such as Driffield,” says Jasmine. “Also, I’m from the village of Langtoft, but Arnie’s family are there and it’s really nice area to be in. Where I grew up you had to drive 10 to 15 minutes for a pint of milk. I like how things are easily accessible in Bridlington.”
The young couple have saved a 10 per cent deposit themselves, and taken advantage of Keepmoat’s five per cent deposit contribution incentive, using some of it towards fitting out their new home.
Will Edwards, sales and lettings negotiator at Cranswick’s estate agency says that although the two locations are only 10 miles apart, the difference in house prices between Bridlington and Driffield is on average, around £20,000.
He believes that the recent rise in first-time-buyer purchase prices is due largely to “the influx of new build developments, as well as Keepmoat, there’s Barratt Homes at The Sands, Gleeson Homes at Pinfold Park and others too.
When I first saw the Rightmove research myself, I thought that’s the reasoning behind it. Something brand new is going to be more appealing, there are incentives for people coming in, they’re highly incentivised to take the new houses over the older stuff in the town.”
Will, who is in his mid-twenties, says he’s noticing that how and where people of his generation live around Bridlington and the wider area “has changed massively in the last few years. A lot of people my generation are liking Flamborough, Bempton, those kind of areas. They’re looking at wanting to be out in the sticks a bit more, in nature.”
The knock-on effect, as Will notes, is that as younger people want to be on the outskirts, properties in the town centre can be difficult to sell. “A lot of this stuff is former guesthouses, they become HMOs or turn into flats. But from an investment point of view, demand for rental properties is really high.”
Bridlington’s first-time buyers are getting older, observes Lucy Height, sales negotiator at Ullyotts estate agency. “In the last couple of years we’ve been getting a lot of older people who are first-time-buyers, both in their twenties and thirties.
"They come over to Bridlington for the day or a break and they love the place so much they decide to move here.”
One of the most popular areas for first-timers in the north side of Bridlington, she says, in particular around The Crayke and Sandsacre.
Whilst Lucy points out that today’s high mortgage rates are not helping first-time-buyers across the board, she agrees that a big Bridlington attraction is “more reasonable prices, compared to other coastal locations such as Scarborough”.
Realistic starting points for buying a home in the town centre are around £90,000 for a one-bedroom apartment, Lucy says, and from around £140,000 to £150,000 for a terraced house.
She adds: “As you can see, you can still get quite a bit for your money in Bridlington.”