The famous seaside town with 7,000 empty homes as 3,400 sit on housing waiting list

A recent insurance survey has reported the staggering number of empty homes in the UK. While London typically has the most empty homes, followed by Manchester, there is one surprising seaside town that comes in third place. The town is famous for its golden sands, vibrant pier, entertainment, and being close to the most expensive piece of coastal real estate in the UK. Yet more than 7,000 homes remain empty in this wealthy south coast town, while approximately 3401 households are on the council waiting list for a home.

Hundreds of thousands of properties across the UK without tenants pose increased security concerns for those responsible for their management, according toClearway.co.uk, a UK-based security and property protection company. London tops the poll with 87,731 unoccupied properties, worth £130 billion to the owners, with Manchester with 8,024 empty homes coming in second place.

But the third-place slot is perhaps the most surprising, with more empty homes than Birmingham (6,975), Bradford (6,056), Leeds (4,857), Coventry (4,399),Bristol ( 3,725), Brighton & Hove (3,388), and Reading (2,595), which make up the rest of the top 10.

Bournemouth comes in third place with 7,213 empty homes, while around 3,400 households sit on the council waiting list for a home.

The average cost of a home in the Bournemouth postcode area is around £404,000, putting it £130,000 higher than the average UK property price of £270,000.

However, property in nearby Sandbanks is a staggering £1.28 million, according to figures from mid-2025, although there is evidence that this dropped to £965,000 by the end of the year.

Labour councillors have said there is a "housing crisis" in Bournemouth and neighbouring Christchurch and Poole.

Leaving properties empty is a major security risk, according to Clearway, including arson. They say deliberate fires are common in empty homes. Then there are accidental fires caused by gas pipe leaks, faulty electrics and dampness.

Another problem is squatters, particularly in cities where illegal occupants are quick to move into empty properties and can be difficult to evict or may cause malicious damage.

Criminals often locate vacant homes to steal metal, roofing tiles, radiators, glazing, doors and timbers.

Finally there are safety issues with vermin, infestations, contaminated water, disused sewage systems and general dilapidation that can cause untold damage, presenting health risks that may impact the surrounding area.

A Clearway spokesperson said: "These issues can cause ongoing costs, above and beyond the immediate repairs or replacements, and will often mean that empty property insurance premiums increase as the perceived risk rises.

"Homes that have previously been the target of crime can drop sharply in value, and a poorly maintained property can lose up to a quarter of its market value, as can the homes nearby.

"Dilapidation, where bricks begin to erode, render cracks or paint starts to flake, can cost more to fix than the property is worth, leading to challenges such as roots growing into the foundations.

"In the worst-case scenario, an empty home can fall into disrepair where insurance policies do not cover the extent of damage caused, and it becomes financially unviable to bring it back into habitable condition."