New insight from property website Rightmove has revealed that after two years of frenzied house buying and renting activity since the pandemic began, competition between buyers and renters in many coastal areas is beginning to cool.

Competition is measured by the number of buyers or renters contacting estate agents in an area, compared with the number of properties available in that area. As demand eases and the number of available properties increases in an area, competition between buyers or renters becomes less fierce.
 
Cities heat up while the coasts cool
In Cornwall, which was one of the most popular areas for people looking to move from an urban area to a coastal area over the last two years, competition between buyers is an average of 27% lower than it was this time last year.

For renters in Cornwall, competition between tenants has eased by an average of 31%, with a jump of 29% in new properties coming to the market to rent compared to this time last year, while demand is still 19% up on last year’s levels.

At a local level, Ilfracombe in Devon has seen the biggest easing in competition for buyers, according to Rightmove, dropping 64% compared to a year ago. For renters it is Barton-on-Sea in Hampshire (-77%).

Across all seaside areas, competition has eased by an average of 10% for buyers and 1% for renters compared to last year.