‘On the up’: How Norfolk seaside village is in UK’s top 10 for house prices
Mundesley has seen house prices rise and has been listed in the top 10 in a Rightmove report. Chairman of Mundesley Parish Council, David Harding. Credit: Sonya Duncan - Credit: Sonya Duncan
The seaside resort of Mundesley has seen house prices rise 40pc in five years.
Up there with Port Talbot and Cornwall, this resort, boasting a magnificent stretch of beach, saw a staggering 40pc increase in average house prices over the past five years, according to Rightmove. The average house price now in Mundesley is £286,254, well above that for the county of £256,567.
It comes as it has seen enormous investment over the past few years with 44 new homes, priced from £230,000-£487,000, built at Mundesley Beck, by Dewing Properties.
Meanwhile millions has been invested in the Mundesley Holiday Village with owner Tim Hay transforming the site into an upmarket leisure destination.
Part of his strategy was to provide few facilities on site meaning visitors have to use local businesses for food, drink and entertainment. As a result, the village has flourished and now has its own post office, butcher’s, florist, convenience store, takeway and hair salon.
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However, improved infrastructure and price hikes means less affordability – seen further along the coast in Burnham Market, which started out as a small fishing village and now dubbed Chelsea-on-Sea for the high value of homes.
David Harding, Mundesley Parish Council chairman, said: “Mundesley is a lovely place to live but there’s a double-edged sword, every house owner likes it when the value of their home goes up but it comes with some anxiety over affordability, especially for young people.
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“We are researching the impact of house prices in our neighbourhood plan to try and help with this.”
Ian Webster, director of Dewing Properties, said: “We thought Mundesley was a lovely place to live with its wonderful stretch of beach, we had a belief that it was a desirable location but we didn’t want to price ourselves out of the market. However, we were surprised in Mundesley at the market 18 months down the line after building the houses, it’s definitely on the up.”
Jan Hytch, chairwoman of the NDAEA, Norwich and District Association of Estate Agents, said: “It’s no great surprise that there continues to be such strong demand for homes in Mundesley. It is well located, it has a superb sandy beach, good shops, and above all a vibrant local community.”
Sue Hall, agent with Arnolds Keys, which is currently selling an apartment in Mundesley for £199,000, said: “Although Mundesley does attract its share of second home buyers, I don’t think it is likely to become another Burnham. The village has a really well-balanced community, with a good mix of young families as well as older people amongst its permanent residents - which means it retains more of a ‘real’ feel than some of the north Norfolk coastal hotspots.
“It is this strong community which is a big part of its appeal, and as a result the village is not just attracting holiday home-seekers from London and the south-east, but those who want to be a permanent part of the village community as well.”
The top 10 coastal locations showing house price growth, according to Rightmove, over five years:
1. Mumbles, Swansea, £344,832, 47pc
2 Camber, East Sussex, £305,891, 45pc
3 Fowey, Cornwall, £487,531, 45pc
4. Sandilands, Lincolnshire, £268,527, 43pc
5. St Margaret’s-at-Cliffe, Kent, £362,982, 42pc
6 Aberavon, Port Talbot, £136,710, 42pc
7 St Agnes, Cornwall, £442,383, 40pc
8 Greatstone, Kent, £338,839, 40pc
9 Mundesley, Norfolk, £286,254, 40pc
10 Benllech, Anglesey, £289,390, 40pc
Why Mundesley is ‘on the up’
Mundesley saw its heyday in the Victorian times when visitors would flock by train for a seaside trip. The village even had its own railway station and large hotels sprung up to accommodate the visitors. During the Second World War, the village was considered such a tonic that a ‘Flak House’ was converted from a large property on its clifftop as a centre of rest and recuperation for combat-weary airmen.
But, sadly, like so many locations, when the railway was closed down in 1964, the village dwindled. With the increasing popularity of the North Norfolk coastal retreats like the Burnhams and the beach at Holkham – attracting celebrity customers and even a Hollywood movie, Shakespeare in Love – places like Mundesley were almost forgotten about by visitors.
However, as investment grew over the past few years, suddenly the resort started to change. And that upward transition is being reflected in the house price growth.