During the last 10 years, the average house price in Britain’s seaside towns rose by 25% from £181,000 in 2007 to £227,000 in 2017 – the equivalent to an average increase of £382 per month.
Sandbanks in Poole remains Britain’s most expensive seaside town for the second consecutive year, where the average price of a home is £664,000 followed by Salcombe in South Devon (£618,000) and Aldeburgh in East Anglia (£527,000).
There is a marked north-south divide in property values in seaside towns, with nine out of 10 of the most expensive seaside towns on the southern coast of England.
Nine out of the 10 least expensive seaside towns are in Scotland; Port Bannatyne on the Isle of Bute is the least expensive seaside town in this survey, with an average price of £71,550.
However Scottish seaside towns have seen the greatest average house price growth in the last 10 years, with the average price in Fraserburgh in Aberdeenshire almost doubling to £136,889 in 2016.
Shoreham by Sea in West Sussex and Aldeburgh in Suffolk have seen rises of 70% and 67% respectively.
Martin Ellis, Halifax housing economist, said: “Seaside towns are extremely popular places to live, offering sought-after views and desirable weather. Being by the sea side does come at a price – with the marked increase in house prices reflecting the demand for rooms with a ‘sea’ view.
“Over the past decade, house prices in the South East, especially coastal towns within commutable distance to London, have shown strong growth and have become Britain’s most expensive seaside towns.
“However, the strongest performing coastal towns in terms of growth have been in north of the border in Scotland, where property prices on the Aberdeenshire coastline have been helped by the oil industry more than the sunshine.”