Britain's hottest real estate spot is a town on Devon coast

London

A FISHING town in south-west England is the hottest property location in the country when it comes to asking prices.

Brixham in Devon, more than 4 hours west of London by car, saw the price of homes coming to market surge by 25 per cent in the year through February, property portal Rightmove said in a report Thursday (Mar 10). In the borough of Torbay, where Brixham is located, prices rose 21 per cent after a sharp increase in demand.

The findings suggest the "race for space" has outlived the pandemic, with the end of the 5-day-a-week commute leading many buyers to abandon urban areas for places further away. A shortage of homes for sale also is driving up prices in popular areas.

Buoyant demand for homes continued in the first months of the year, according to a separate survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. It said prospective buyers across the UK are shrugging off a Bank of England interest-rate increase last month and a mounting cost of living crisis.

New inquiries jumped, and estate agents expect house prices to keep rising in the coming year. That picture is mirrored in the rental market.

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In better news for buyers, the pressure on supply showed signs of easing in both surveys, with Rightmove reporting a 16 per cent rise in new listings compared with January.

Asking prices in Brixham averaged 329,699 (S$590,425) in February, a third less than the average value in London, the Rightmove figures show. Other hotspots last month included Jesmond in north-east England and Farnham in the south. The average asking price across Britain rose 9.5 per cent. BLOOMBERG