Seaside home prices across South West jump as more people work from home

PA - Sandbanks Dorset
Credit: PA

The average price of a home by the sea has jumped by more than £22,000, with coastal property values boosted by the switch to home working during the pandemic, according to a report.

Lending giant Halifax said the average value of a British seaside property rose to £287,087 last year, up 8% or £22,082 from 2020.

Salcombe in Devon came in second place, down from pole position in 2020, with a typical property costing £912,599, as the South West dominated the ranking.

It was pipped to number one spot by Sandbanks in Dorset, with average prices surging 10% year-on-year to £929,187, the analysis of Land Registry house price data showed.

Padstow, Fowey, Dartmouth, Lyme Regis and Kingsbridge also feature in the top most expensive seaside towns in the country.

Last year's price gains mean properties by the sea have soared by 50% or £95,599 over the past decade, with a 27% leap in the past five years.

Many Britons have looked to buy in more remote locations and move away from cities in the past two years as the pandemic saw a shift towards working from home.

Russell Galley, managing director of Halifax, said: "Our ongoing love affair with living by the sea shows few signs of abating.

"Homes on the coast have long attracted a premium price, and this was no different in 2021, with the move towards working from home being an ongoing influence on where people choose to live.

"Whether it's a lifestyle sought, the scenery or the sea air, when it comes to buying homes, we really do love to be beside the seaside."

Millport, on the Isle of Cumbrae in North Ayrshire, Scotland - the study's least expensive seaside town in 2020 - has seen the biggest increase in average prices of any coastal town over the past year, up by more than half (53%) from £74,148 to £113,292.

But Scotland also features throughout the list of Britain's cheapest seaside towns, with Campbeltown in Argyll and Bute offering the most affordable properties at an average of just £91,201.

Over the past decade, Margate in the South East has seen the biggest average price rise of any seaside town, with prices jumping by 98% or £139,814, from £142,920 to £282,734.

Here are Britain's most expensive seaside towns according to Halifax, with the average house price:

  • Sandbanks, Dorset, South West, £929,187

  • Salcombe, Devon, South West, £912,599

  • Padstow, Cornwall, South West, £588,090

  • Lymington, Hampshire, South West, £565,790

  • Aldeburgh, Suffolk, East Anglia, £515,444

  • Fowey, Cornwall, South West, £491,042

  • Dartmouth, Devon, South West, £485,760

  • Lyme Regis, Dorset, South West, £473,861

  • East Wittering, West Sussex, South East, £472,364

  • Kingsbridge, Devon, South West, £464,858

Here are Britain's least expensive seaside towns according to Halifax, with the average house price:

  • Campbeltown, Argyll and Bute, Scotland, £91,201

  • Girvan, South Ayrshire, Scotland, £101,676

  • Greenock, Inverclyde, Scotland, £103,496

  • Ardrossan, North Ayrshire, Scotland, £104,990

  • Saltcoats, North Ayrshire, Scotland, £105,505

  • Wick, Highland, Scotland, £105,686

  • Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, Northumberland, North, £108,957

  • Port Bannatyne, Isle of Bute, Firth of Clyde, Scotland, £111,717

  • Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotland, £111,742

  • Millport, North Ayrshire, Scotland, £113,292