James Max

Is now the time to buy a coastal bolthole?

  • From Spectator Life

It’s hard to believe we’re heading towards the pandemic’s first anniversary. The economy has had a torrid time. But if there’s one area that has surprised us all with its buoyancy it is the property market. Ever since the first lockdown, there has been a flurry of activity at a time when a market crash was predicted.

So, what is going on and should you hop on the bandwagon?

The Office for National Statistics reported that UK house prices rose by 8.5 per cent over the year to December 2020. That growth wasn’t in city centres which have, at best, been largely stagnant. Instead it was driven by properties out of town and particularly in rural areas and on the coast near to major conurbations. According to Knight Frank, the residential and commercial property agents, second home purchases are up 59 per cent year-on-year.

Is this just a lockdown fad? Personally, I don’t think so. The Victorian ideal of a seaside escape runs deep in the British psyche. And

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