YOUNGER home buyers are driving the demand for waterside properties in Britain.

Many are actively looking to live near water within five years, new research has found.

The 2018 waterside survey from Strutt & Parker says that the popular perception that it’s mostly older retirees who aspire to live by the water for health and relaxation reasons is not correct.

It found that over a quarter, some 26 per cent, of under 35s are actively looking to live near water within five years. This compared to just 12 per cent of over 45s.

Although retirement is the life stage in which people are most likely to aspire to move to a waterside location, the survey also found that 21 per cent would like to move while children are young or still living at home and 10 per cent before having children.

The rise in flexible working is helping to facilitate the move to waterside living among young professionals, according to the research.

Among employed adults already living in waterside properties, 49 per cent work from home.

There was a jump in the number of people who wanted to make the move to the waterside in the nearer future, with 18 per cent saying they are actively looking to move close to water in the next five years.

This is up from 12 per cent in 2017.

Among under 45s who would like to live near water in the future, 33 per cent believe it’s very much obtainable and 40 per cent somewhat obtainable.

In comparison the majority of over 45s, some 56 per cent, say it is not obtainable.

Among those who live near the water, or would like to in the future, the preferred type of waterside to live near to is the seaside/coast at 52 per cent, followed by lakes/lochs at 17 per cent and rivers/estuaries at 13 per cent.

There has been an increase in those who desire to live near to docklands, at seven per cent compared to just one per cent in 2017.

This perhaps reflects the increasingly dynamic and aspirational nature of dockland regeneration areas such as those in London and Liverpool.