Many of us dream of moving to the coast and enjoying that laid-back holiday feeling all year round. And here in Norfolk we’re spoiled for choice for villages and towns with beautiful beaches on the doorstep. But where are the hotspots?
It was only a few weeks into the first lockdown last spring when Clive Hedges’s phone started ringing with enquiries from people who, having discovered that working from home was now an option, had decided to make the leap and swap the city for a more relaxed, outdoorsy way of life on the Norfolk coast.
And with coastal property in high demand, new hotspots are emerging.
“If you are in a two-bedroom apartment in south east London, for the same amount of money you can buy a nice house on the north Norfolk coast, with good broadband and all the nice things that Norfolk has to offer,” says Clive, branch manager of Arnolds Keys in Sheringham.
“The Burnhams and Wells have been eternally popular, and places such as Blakeney and Cley, and Sheringham, Cromer and Mundesley,” he continues.
“If a flint cottage comes on to the market, you know it’s going to be in high demand. And what we have been seeing is buyers drifting east.”
So which places are in demand at the moment?
Weybourne
With its traditional flint cottages, Weybourne, between Sheringham and Kelling, is a picture postcard pretty north Norfolk village, surrounded by two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, so ideal if you love walking.
“Property prices have really increased in this area,” says Clive. “A cottage that would have been £150,000 five years ago is double that now.”
West Runton
Between Sheringham and Cromer, West Runton is another up and coming location for househunters, says Clive.
It’s a location steeped in history - the skeleton of a mammoth was found on its beach and it’s a popular destination for fossil hunters.
Sheringham
Clive says that the town of Sheringham is “bustling” once more, now that lockdown restrictions are easing, with some people taking the plunge and making it their permanent home.
Happisburgh
Further east, Happisburgh had been a “well kept secret” says Clive.
But it seems that the secret is out, as internet property searches for the location rose by more than 140% last year.
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