That iconic Ian Brown quote, as comical as it may be, is one that’s hung over the city for years now, and could have a lot to with why rising numbers of Mancunians are said to be scoping out the property market in the Lancashire seaside town of Morecambe, but according to several industry experts, the hit ITV drama The Bay probably has a lot more to do with it.
Recent data collated and published by leading property search website Rightmove has revealed that searches for homes in Morecambe surged by 71% in the space of just a week, with the town recording a bigger seven-day increase in searches than anywhere else in Britain.
The average asking price of a home in Morecambe is currently £151,607, which is 6.4% more than a year ago.
The Lancashire town is known for its five-mile stretch of sandy beach and promenade, and streets lined with cafes, restaurants and hotels. Its seafront is home to an Eric Morecambe statue overlooking the bay – which has becoming a popular tourist attraction – as well as a renowned art deco-inspired hotel, The Midland, which has also been used as a location in the past for another popular ITV show – Agatha Christie’s Poirot.
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It was also revealed last November that plans for the Eden Project North – part of a wider project aiming to “re-imagine Morecambe as a seaside resort for the 21st Century” – had taken a big step forward following a £70 million funding bid.
And now, with the return of the ITV show The Bay shining a light on the Northern town once again thanks to its second series, which hit screens a few weeks back, it’s easy to see why people are flocking to Morecambe.
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The first series of the show drew in an average of 7.2 million viewers across six episodes alone.
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Estate agents in Morecambe also believe the recent surge in property popularity is due to the fact you can bag yourself a range of properties sizes for pretty reasonable prices, which is prompting people who live in expensive cities to think about moving.
Speaking on the recent interest, Laura Fort – at Ibay Homes in Morecambe – said: “The Bay has certainly put Morecambe on the map in recent weeks.
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“We’re already seeing lots of people moving here from Manchester and London, [which is] probably because you can get a real bargain and buy a four-bed house for about £150,000.”
It’s not just interest in properties for sale that has seen a recent hike either.
Searches for homes to rent were also up 22% over the same period, presumably from the show’s fans looking for a getaway by the ocean, with renting in Morecambe typically costing around £612 per month.
The recent surge for properties in Morecambe, however, is said to be part of a wider national interest in coastal living that has been identified as of late, with parts of Devon and Cornwall also seeing a jump as people re-evaluate their lifestyles due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
According to Rightmove data, the top 10 UK locations with the biggest weekly percentage increases in buyer searches are:
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Morecambe, Lancashire – 71%
Looe, Cornwall – 59%
Ilfracombe, Devon – 43%
Saxmundham, Suffolk – 34%
Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland – 32%
Motherwell, Lanarkshire – 24%
Callington, Cornwall – 23%
Prudhoe, Northumberland – 22%
Camborne, Cornwall – 21%
Newquay, Cornwall – 20%
ITV / The Bay / Ben Blackall
Tim Bannister – Director of Property Data at Rightmove – said: “People are watching TV shows such as The Bay and then scrolling through Rightmove on their devices to see what’s available.
“The same is true of Devon and Cornwall.
“There’s a number of Cornwall-focused lifestyle shows on TV at the moment and it’s hard not to get swept away dreaming about a life in the South West.
“We already know that rural and seaside areas are rising in popularity, so it’s a trend that bodes well for sellers in these locations.”
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The Bay continues on ITV this Wednesday 3rd February.
Property
Top 10 cheapest UK areas for first time buyers revealed – and two are only an hour from Manchester
Emily Sergeant
The 10 cheapest areas to buy your first house in the UK have been revealed, and two are only an hour away from Manchester.
After it was revealed that more than 70,000 home buyers across England are estimated to have missed the stamp duty relief deadline, which means that they’ll now be required to fork out thousands of pounds extra as of yesterday (1 April), the cheapest places to get your foot on the property ladder in 2025 have now been named.
While the end of the stamp duty relief will mostly affect those who had already previously purchased properties, first time buyers are sadly not exempt, as their current stamp duty threshold of £425,000 has now fallen back to £300,000.
So if you’re looking to buy your first home, this is a list to keep a close eye on.
The top 10 cheapest UK areas for first time buyers have been revealed / Credit: Pavel Danilyuk (via Pexels)
Property platform Rightmove has crunched the numbers and come up with a top 10 list for those on a budget and considering lower-priced areas they can move to, with the Scottish town of Kilmarnock in Ayrshire being named the cheapest area for a first time buyer to get onto the property ladder, as the average asking price for a typical first time buyer-type home here is just over £84,000.
Scotland keeps on pulling through, as the twon of Greenock in Inverclyde is second on the list, with an average asking price of £88,862, followed by Grimsby in third at £93,427.
As far as the North West is concerned, no residential areas in Greater Manchester have made the cut this time around, but the region’s two representatives on the list are only around an hour away from Manchester.
Top 10 cheapest UK areas for first time buyers
Kilmarnock – £84,325
Greenock – £88,862
Grimsby – £93,427
Blackpool – £93,711
Middlesbrough – £95,473
Hartlepool £99,525
Paisley – £99,570
East Killbride – £100,814
Ayr – £101,391
Burnley – £102,848
You’ll have to cross over the border into Lancashire if you’re looking for a budget-friendly first time home, as Blackpool takes the fourth spot on the list, with an average price of £93,711, and Burnley also makes an appearance at number 10 with an average price of £102,848.
The North overall is pretty well-represented, with other towns and cities such as Middlesbrough and Hartlepool featuring in the top 10, but according to the data, Scotland is by far the cheapest country to get on the property ladder in the UK.
Paisley, East Killbride, and Ayr also find themselves on the list lower down, as well as the two aforementioned Scottish towns in first and second place.
Experts at Rightmove explained that wage growth has unfortunately ‘outpaced’ the rise in average asking prices for first time buyer homes in the last five years, so while this has slightly increased the mortgage borrowing power of first time buyers, affordability is still said to remains ‘very stretched’ overall.
Featured Image – Benjamin Elliott (via Unsplash)
Property
More than 70,000 home buyers set to pay thousands after missing stamp duty relief deadline
Emily Sergeant
More than 70,000 home buyers across England are estimated to have missed the stamp duty relief deadline.
This sadly means they’ll be required to fork out thousands of pounds extra.
In case you hadn’t heard, up until yesterday (31 March 2025), anyone who was moving and had bought a home in the past was not required to pay Stamp Duty Land Tax, better-known as just stamp duty, on the portion of the property price up to £250,000.
But from today (1 April), this threshold has now fallen back to £125,000, which unfortunately means that property purchasers are facing an extra £2,500 in moving costs, on average.
While the end of the stamp duty relief will mostly affect those Greater Manchester buyers who had already previously purchased properties, first time buyers are sadly not exempt from the deadline changes too, as their current stamp duty threshold of £425,000 has now fallen back to £300,000 as of today.
Person holding the keys to a new house in their hand / Credit: Maria Ziegler (via Unsplash)
Given that the average property price for a first time buyer-type home is currently around £227,965, according to Rightmove, the new £300,000 threshold may hit those purchasing properties in more expensive areas – particularly the South East.
A third of those estimated 70,000 home buyers who have missed the deadline are thought to be first time buyers.
Leading property platform Rightmove published an analysis in February into just how much of an impact the end of the stamp duty relief would have on home buyers, all while calling on the UK Government to announce a short extension to the deadline to help people in the middle of the property purchasing process avoid potentially thousands of pounds in extra moving costs.
But despite these calls from industry leaders, there was no extension to the deadline announced in the last week’s latest Spring Statement.
“It’s extremely disappointing that the Government has not used the Spring Statement as an opportunity to extend the impending stamp duty deadline for those currently going through the home-moving process,” commented Rightmove’s property expert Colleen Babcock.
“We estimate over 70,000 people are going to miss the deadline and complete in April instead, and a third of those are first time buyers.”
Emily Sergeant -
1st February 2021 
