WITH world leaders in Carbis Bay at the weekend for the G7 summit, the area was put on the global stage.

And the number of people searching for property in the coastal village more than doubled in a day, according to data from the UK’s biggest property website Rightmove.

Buyer searches for Carbis Bay were up 103% last Wednesday compared with the previous day.

The village has an average asking price of over £384,000, which is more than £50,000 higher than the Cornwall average of £331,655, and beachside homes are currently for sale for up to £3 million.

Back in February, Cornwall replaced London as the most searched-for place on Rightmove and it maintained its number one position in May. Other coastal counties of Norfolk and Dorset are also in the top ten.

In February 2020, before the pandemic started, Norfolk was in position 16, and it is the first time that Norfolk has made it in to the top ten since 2017, at position eight. The average asking price of a home in Norfolk is £285,400.

Dorset has climbed from position 20 in February 2020 to number nine in May of this year. The average asking price of a home in Dorset is £371,242.

Over the past week, the areas seeing the biggest jump in searches have all been coastal locations. West Wittering in Sussex saw searches jump by 43%, followed by Camber with a jump of 35%.

Rightmove’s property expert Tim Bannister says: “All eyes are on Carbis Bay right now, and with supply so limited, coupled with the price premium for the county and the fast pace of sales, it’s only a lucky few who will be able to move there, but thousands of others are checking out what’s on offer.

“With the sun finally coming out in Britain over the past week people have been using their holidays as a time to find out what’s for sale in a number of tourist locations, and some will decide that now is the time to make a move to live beside the sea.

Interest

“Interest from potential buyers in coastal areas has increased significantly over the past year, with Cornwall now the most searched for place on Rightmove, and there are a large group of people considering a coastal relocation for a different lifestyle.”

Vicky Twydell, sales negotiator at Bradleys Estate Agents in St Ives, says: “We’ve seen a huge amount of demand for homes here, especially those that have a sea view. People like to come to Carbis Bay because it’s usually a lot quieter than St Ives, and we’ve had people from other areas moving here for a change of lifestyle now that they’re able to work from home more often. There are homes of all price ranges getting interest from multiple buyers.”