I do like to live beside the sea: Britain’s most sought-after seaside towns revealed in new report

Britain's three priciest seaside towns are now more expensive than London as city dwellers look to the coast for space for the family or a scenic retirement.

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Prudence Ivey, Editor, Homes & Property @PrudenceIvey1 August 2017

House prices in Britain’s most sought-after seaside towns are catching up with, or in some cases outstripping, the pace of growth in some central London areas.

Sandbanks in Dorset retains its position as Britain’s most expensive seaside town for the second year running, with average house prices of £664,000. It knocked the former record holder, Salcombe in North Devon, into second place with its average price of £618,000, according to the latest figures from Halifax.

The average London house price is £584,000.

With an average price of £527,000, the third most expensive seaside town was Aldeburgh in Suffolk, a popular cultural destination where many Londoners buy second homes.

There is also a strong London commuter contingent in the most expensive seaside spots, all of which are in the South West, South East and East Anglia, many within a few hours of London.

Halifax housing economist Martin Ellis said: “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.”

Many of the top 10 most expensive towns were places that have longstanding popularity with London leavers, retirees and commuters.

But Mr Ellis pointed out that the largest 10-year price growth has been seen in seaside towns in Scotland, thanks to Aberdeen's oil boom.

“Property prices on the Aberdeenshire coastline have been helped by the oil industry more than the sunshine,” he said.

Fraserburgh in Aberdeenshire, home to the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses, saw house prices soar 95 per cent from £70,300 in 2006 to £137,000 in 2016. Lerwick in the Shetlands saw the second highest increase of 77 percent, from £91,000 to £161,000.

This is compared to an average 10-year house price increase of 25 per in British seaside towns, from £181,000 in 2007 to £227,000.