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SCARBOROUGH BECOMING PROPERTY HOTSPOT DESPITE THE HOUSING MARKET SLOWDOWN

View of Scarborough from Oliver's Mount

In an article in this month’s Yorkshire Life Magazine, Scarborough is highlighted as a ‘Property Hotspot’, bucking the trend of the ‘credit crunch’ and nationwide property sales slump.

The piece, in Yorkshire’s biggest and best selling country magazine, tells how Scarborough’s tourist fortunes took a dive in the 1960s with the advent of cheap-and-easy air travel (along with every other UK seaside town), but how it’s always remained been one of the most popular destinations on Yorkshire’s East Coast. Now Scarborough is enjoying somewhat of a renaissance and, thanks to people relocating to, or buying second homes there, the town is fast becoming a property hotspot.

Traditionally Scarborough has been seen as simply good entertainment value. With visitors enjoying a stroll along the beach; a plate of cockles or fish and chips; an ice-cream at blissful 1960s-style The Harbour Bar. But house buyers and investors are now looking at Scarborough as far more than just a grand day or a trip to seaside – and it’s easy to see why!

There is a wide range of great restaurants in town, including Lanterna – a multi-award winning Italian restaurant and Michelin recommended Pepper’s Restaurant, four theatres, including Sir Alan Ayckbourn’s Stephen Joseph Theatre, the brand new Opera House Casino, a thriving nightlife, top quality accommodation including The Royal Hotel and Wrea Head Country House Hotel, fabulous views of the Yorkshire Coast, two golden beaches and great transport links to other parts of the county.

Prices are generally are higher in South Bay than North Bay, with small flats in Victorian houses in South Bay costing an average of £120,000, and two-bed Victorian seafront flats from £190,000. A three-bed semi on Oliver’s Mount, South Bay, will set you back around is £250,000.

Interior designer Lisa Skelton owns a four-storey, hillside house with stunning views across South Bay to the lighthouse at the entrance to the harbour. ‘The view is terrific at night, too,’ she says. ‘It’s really atmospheric to see all the lights dotted along the bay. Even in winter, this town is a really interesting place to live because we get really rough, grey seas crashing onto the sands. I love it here.’

Another convert is Sally Greaves Lord, a textile designer of international repute (and a former creative director of global fashion design king Issey Miyake) whose work has featured in acclaimed national exhibitions and international glossy magazines. She relocated to Scarborough from London at the end of the 1980s. ‘I’d been regularly visiting Scarborough since I was seven,’ she explains. ‘I used to holiday there as a child, and it felt like a second home to me. I had such strong memories of the place, and it was a location I felt drawn to.’ Now she is frequently inspired by her Yorkshire surroundings. ‘It seems to be the perfect location to me,’ says Sally, ‘and living so near water is lovely, I have to say. My designs are fairly abstract and yet I feel inspired by landscapes, towns or buildings. I feel immersed in my surroundings – and that comes out in my work.’

Then there’s painter Kane Cunningham who uses one of the vacant baiting sheds on the pier as an art studio. Kane is from Manchester, but reckons that Scarborough is a gift because the light and the sea views practically beg to be interpreted. ‘The landscape here is endlessly fascinating,’ he says.

Many TV and filmmakers have agreed with that sentiment. Over the years Scarborough has been used as a location for Where the Heart Is, A Touch of Frost, Heartbeat and most recently ITV’s The Royal. Big screen appearances for the town include, the Oscar-winning Little Voice and Michael Winner’s film version of Alan Ayckbourn’s A Chorus of Disapproval.

And if all that wasn’t enough to convince you that Scarborough is the place to make your next property purchase, then how about these words from legendary cricket umpire Dickie Bird? He thinks Scarborough has the lot and in an interview with Yorkshire Life Magazine, Dickie names the East Coast – and Scarborough in particular – as one of his favourite places on the planet. ‘I walk on The Esplanade right to the end,’ he told us, ‘and I sit there for hours on the cliff top looking across the bay to the harbour. You tell me anywhere nicer in the world and I’d love to see it.’

If you’re interested in seeing the wide range of property Scarborough has to offer, we’ve compiled a list of links to local estate agents below to whet your appetite. Then, where better to base yourself when making you viewings than The Royal Hotel? Centrally located and within walking distance of most of the towns estate agents The Royal is the perfect place to stay for your first taste of Scarborough. Enjoy excellent service, quality accommodation and fine food, and make sure you book a Sea View Room to take in some of those stunning views described in the article above!