Sandbanks in Dorset named as the UK’s most expensive seaside town

Second-home buyers are often blamed for helping to push up house prices in many popular seaside towns

Sandbanks is just one of the towns in the south-west of England dominating the list of most expensive seaside towns (PA)

Sandbanks in Dorset has been named Britain's most expensive seaside town, with the average price of a home there nearly £665,000.

Salcombe in Devon, where the average home is worth £539,950, was in second place, according to the building society Halifax’s annual Seaside Town Review.

The South-west of England, a popular area for people buying second homes, dominated the list of most expensive seaside towns in Britain, while Scotland featured heavily in the list of seaside towns with the least expensive properties.

Padstow, Dartmouth, Fowey, St Mawes and Wadebridge in the South-west were all on the list of seaside towns with the highest property values, while in Scotland Port Bannatyne, Girvan, Campbeltown, Stranraer, Invergordon and Rothesay were among the least expensive towns.

Port Bannatyne is the least expensive seaside town on the list, with the average house price there standing at £77,132.

Second-home buyers are often blamed for helping to push up house prices in many popular seaside towns across Britain and making it harder for local people to get on the housing ladder.

Halifax found that house prices have increased by £440 a month on average in Britain's seaside towns over the past decade. The average property price in a seaside town has increased by 32 per cent from £166,565 in 2006 to £219,386 in 2016.

Halifax used house price figures from the Land Registry and the Registers of Scotland for the report, covering 196 seaside towns across Britain.

Martin Ellis, a housing economist at Halifax, said:“If you're looking for a bargain, it's still easier to find the further North you go, where the average price in several areas is still below £100,000."

The 10 most expensive seaside towns in Britain, according to Halifax:

1. Sandbanks, South-west, £664,655

2. Salcombe, South-west, £539,950

3. Padstow, South-west, £443,396

4, Aldeburgh, East Anglia, £439,379

5. Lymington, South-east, £426,112

6. Dartmouth, South-west, £401,361

7. Fowey, South-west, £379,003

8. St Mawes, South-west, £373,746

9. Wadebridge, South-west, £373,351

10. Budleigh Salterton, South-west, £360,984

The 10 least expensive:

1. Port Bannatyne, Scotland, £77,132

2. Newbiggin by the Sea, North, £81,259

3. Girvan, Scotland, £91,912

4. Campbeltown, Scotland, £91,938

5. Saltcoats, Scotland, £93,479

6. Stranraer, Scotland, £96,476

7. Invergordon, Scotland, £98,673

8. Millport, Scotland, £98,742

9. Rothesay, Scotland, £99,005

10. Thurso, Scotland, £99,660