The pretty seaside towns where it is very hard to sell a house - full list

Nine out of the ten slowest markets to find a buyer are coastal towns, according to the research by experts at property portal Rightmove

Britain’s pretty seaside towns have been identified as the hardest place to sell a house. People living in the likes of Abergele and Skegness can see it take around 100 days to find a buyer.

Details have been revealed in a new study highlighting those hot and cold spots where it takes sellers the longest or shortest period to find a buyer. Nine out of the ten slowest markets to find a buyer are coastal towns, according to the research by experts at property portal Rightmove.

The difficulty in finding buyers may be associated with the fact that buying a second home in a seaside town is becoming much more expensive with local authorities being given powers to impose double Council Tax. The average number of days to find a buyer was 118 in Brixham, Devon, where the average price is £338,011.

In second is Skegness at 115 days. Also on the list of a top 10 locations where it takes longer to find a buyer are Abergele, in Wales, at 106 days, Minehead, Somerset, at 103 days, with Cleethorpes, Canford Cliffs, Dorset, and Hayling Island at 99, and Barton-on-Sea at 98.

Looking at housing hot spots, the study found that sellers in Scotland find it much easier to push through a sale. Rightmove said: “The top ten quickest locations across Great Britain to find a buyer are in Scotland, and all the current hotspots are selling faster than they did a year ago.”

Carluke in Lanarkshire is Great Britain’s fastest-selling market this year, with sellers in the area finding a buyer in an average of just 15 days. Giffnock in Glasgow is the second quickest market, with homes finding a buyer in 16 days, and Uddingston in Glasgow is third, taking 17 days on average. Both are in commuting distance to central Glasgow.

Rightmove figures show that for Great Britain as a whole, it is currently taking 60 days on average to find a buyer. Looking at London, its researchers found that locations further out from the centre, such as Walthamstow, Stoke Newington and Dagenham, are currently finding a buyer the quickest.

Rightmove said: “Central London locations such as Knightsbridge, Chelsea and Victoria are the slowest London markets to find a buyer this year, with Knightsbridge slowing by 24 days compared to last year. Price is likely playing its part, as these areas are all premium locations in London with fewer mass market buyers."

Tim Bannister, property expert at Rightmove, says: “Carluke has taken the top spot again this year for the fastest market across Great Britain, underlining the continued speed of the market in this part of Scotland. The Glasgow commuter towns of Giffnock and Uddingston are high on the list right now, suggesting buyers are looking for easy access to the city centre, whilst enjoying the increased space that being further out can bring.

"In London, commuter areas such as Walthamstow and Dagenham are leading the way in finding buyers the quickest, likely driven by well-connected transport links and more affordable prices compared to central zones. By contrast, more exclusive central locations like Knightsbridge and Chelsea are taking longer to find buyers, as these high-end markets typically move at a different pace.”

The president of the estate agent body, NAEA Propertymark, Toby Leek, said: “There are many different reasons why some homes sell at a much quicker pace than others and some aspects are based on amended lifestyles since the pandemic.

“With homeworking much more of a normality, many people are choosing locations they may not have considered previously. People are also hunting down desired locations with advantageous transport links to metropolitan areas rather than living directly in those areas, as prices are typically lower which provides further flexibility in their affordability. This news demonstrates that Britain’s housing market remains extremely vibrant despite the many economic challenges over the last few years. We expect momentum to progress even further with lenders adjusting their range of mortgage offerings and some starting to offer sub-four per cent deals.”