Waterfront properties worth 60 per cent more than similar homes inland

Special features such as a private mooring or pontoon can double the value of a home

Roselaw, Mixtow, Nr Fowey, Cornwall. On with Knight Frank for offers in the region of £595,000

Waterfront properties in the South West enjoy the largest waterfront premiums in the UK, according to figures from the Knight Frank.

A waterfront setting in the South West can see an uplift of up to 75 per cent, says its report, followed by East Anglia (41 per cent) and the South East (44 per cent). The South West prices show a 17 per cent jump from last year.

On average, prime waterfront properties in the UK are worth an average of 60 per cent more than their inland counterparts, an 11 per cent surge compared to 2013. Properties on estuaries have done particularly well, with an average premium of 85 per cent compared to equivalent properties a few miles inland.

Estuary hotspots include Rock, Salcombe, Dartmouth, St Mawes and Newton Ferrers in the West Country and on the south coast areas such as Sandbanks and the Beaulieu River Estuary.

Earlier this year, Halifax estimated that the average house price in seaside towns had risen by £500 per month since 2004, a rise of 42 per cent, making Britain's highest priced seaside towns Salcombe and Sandbanks. Five seaside towns in Scotland recorded at least a doubling in house prices since 2004, Fraserburgh, Cove Bay, Peterhead, Inverbervie and Stonehaven.

Coastal properties - waterfront properties that do not overlook an estuary or harbour - are still worth 56 per cent more than their inland equivalents. Properties situated next to a river have an added value of 57 per cent, lakeside homes of 37 per cent.

Moreover, special features can often double the value of a home, says the report. Properties with a private mooring or pontoon see their waterfront premium jump by 104 per cent and 100 per centrespectively, with private beach access and jetties adding 85 per cent.

"2013 proved to be a much better year for the waterfront property market compared to the previous three years," said Christopher Bailey, Head of Knight Frank’s Waterfront Team. The glorious weather we have enjoyed in recent weeks has firmly brought the waterfront market to life with clear signs of continued positive buyer sentiment across the whole of the South Coast, East Anglia and much of the West Country. "