More Space, Slower Pace and No Rat-Race
5 Jun, 2020
Millions across the UK have spent the last few months of lock down re-evaluating themselves, their lives and their priorities. Time at home with the family and crucially without them, has led to a national resetting of what we consider ‘important’.
Sure, with shops and offices just beginning to re-open, many of us will soon slip in to our old habits either because we want to, don’t feel brave or empowered enough to make a change or we simply take the line of least resistance and find ourselves back on the old treadmill.
You know the one...
Waking up tired, rushing to get ready, the school run, getting to work, paying £3.50 for a coffee to perk yourself up, doing a day’s work and then more or less the same thing in reverse just to do it again tomorrow...
Its not surprising Rightmove saw its biggest daily visits on 27th May, up 18% on the year before as 6 million people in one day looked for a new home.
And it’s the coast and country that buyers are looking for, and Worthing ticks both boxes. Demand for property in the town is already through the roof, a mixture of pent-up lock down demand and thousands looking to relocate here. Understandably buyers (and a good number of renters) are looking for space, fresh air and escape from the 9-5 (well more like 7-7) that modern city life demands.
And the buyers we’ve registered and sold to so far haven’t been looking for a summer home or seafront flat. Victorian terraced houses in Peckham selling for £800,000 make a Worthing equivalent near to the station, town and seafront at £340,000 seem as cheap as the chips bought on the prom.
Worthing has also been helped by the new installation of fibre broadband, underway across the town, that promises 1000mb speeds suitable for the most demanding of businesses. With the popularity of Skype, Zoom and the others, Worthing residents sitting in their leafy garden could likely be enjoying better speeds than their colleagues in The City.
So what’s coming top of the list for these new Worthing property buyers?
Well many have good budgets and know what they want. We’ve seen demand already for homes with:
- Good outside space
- High-spec kitchens
- Loft rooms to be used as an office
- Anywhere with a garden building or habitable garage
- Close to town and sea for amenities plus sea air
And where does this leave Worthing residents? We hope that the influx will bring new dynamism and energy to the town. Well when we finally return to normal, local businesses will be supported, cinemas and the theatre will be busier, there could be a very noticeable ‘new vibe’ in the town centre.
We think this could be really great for the town and all who live here. And boy, do we need a silver lining right now!