FIRST-time buyers are looking to move to away from the coast and into cities.

New analysis from Rightmove shows that more first-time buyers are looking to move to cities, while demand in coastal areas has stood still.

The analysis looked between January and May 2025, compared with the same period in 2015, and measured enquiries for typical first-time buyer properties. The study compared 50 of the largest cities across Great Britain (excluding London), with 50 of the largest and most popular coastal areas based on volume of buyer enquiries.

Over the last ten years, on average, the number of potential first-time buyers looking to move to cities is up by 16 per cent, though this varies significantly between cities.

By contrast, on average, the number of future first-time buyers looking to move to popular coastal areas is completely flat compared with ten years ago.

Both the city and coastal locations analysed have increased in price by 41 per cent over the last decade on average.

Colleen Babcock, Rightmove’s property expert says: “We’ve seen a number of changes to the property market over the last ten years. Perhaps most notably is during the pandemic, when many people temporarily left cities and looked to the coast or countryside.

“Comparing where we are now versus a decade ago, it looks like there’s even more appeal from potential first-time buyers to live in cities, though the data does show that it can vary quite widely from city to city, and it will also depend how first-time buyer friendly a particular location is in terms of the type of homes that are available for sale.

“Coastal areas haven’t seen the same level of growth as cities from this type of buyer, and again it may be partly due to the availability of suitable homes in these areas for first-time buyers as well as affordability.”