'Youthful' Canterbury has been named one of the UK's top cities for young people to buy a home.

A growing millennial population and fast transport links to London have earned it fourth place on a list of the country's best cities for first-time buyers, compiled by Good Move.

The city's three universities and wide range of food and accommodation options are among its key draws for 18 to 34-year-olds, according to the property buyers.

Its popularity has led to a 16% increase in the number of people from this age group choosing to make Canterbury their home between 2012 to 2017, the fourth-highest rate of growth in the UK.

Charlie Bainbridge, the director of Charles Bainbridge Estate Agents in Broad Street, says students who decide to stay on in the city after completing their degree is likely to be a big factor.

"First of all, it's just aesthetically and demographically, a lovely place to be," he says

"What might influence things also is the big population that we see that come out of University - be it the University of Kent, Canterbury Christ Church or University for the Creative Arts - that may have originally travelled from home to go to Uni, but have stayed on for their career. There's quite a lot of people that come to Uni and then stay.

"Another influence is affordability," he continues.

"We're not as highly priced as other areas in Kent that are more historically part of the commuter belt, like Sevenoaks, Paddock Wood or Tonbridge.

"People are priced out of a lot of these areas, so you will get a high proportion renting and not being able to afford to buy, but in Canterbury, you have got an element of affordability.

The average price of a house in Canterbury last year was £297,811, above the national average of £258,270 but significantly lower than the average London house price, £543,788.

Sade Kennedy, senior sales adviser at Wards Estate Agents in St Margaret's Street, also says the news "doesn't surprise her at all".

"There are a lot of first-time buyers in the area," she says.

"You've got the Uni, so it's really popular with young people, and you've got people commuting to London, who because they have high-paying jobs and use the high speed link, are able to buy here.

"You have got great shops, and the nightlife is really good and it's there all through the week.

"There's lots of factors here that make Canterbury really great. It really does have everything. It's got a great feel and a lot going for it."

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Ms Kennedy says the city centre is the most popular location among young people looking to get on the property ladder, although more affordable areas close to the University of Kent campus are also in high demand, as is Sturry.

The list, which looks at factors such as affordability and the population of young people, was topped by Coventry, followed by Bath, Somerset and Exeter.

London was named the worst place to buy your first home, with the average borough in the capital having 2,000 fewer young adults living there than in 2012.

By contrast, the proportion of 18 to 34-year-olds in Canterbury has gone up from 27.13% of the population in 2012 to 29.37% in 2017.

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