Average house prices in British seaside towns up by a third since 2005

House prices have increased, on average, by a third across British seaside towns over the past decade, according to the latest research.

Prices are up by 31% or £49,207, equivalent to £410 per month, from £159,522 to £208,729, the data from UK lender the Halifax shows.

However, there is a marked north/south divide in listing values in seaside towns, with all 10 of the most expensive seaside towns in southern England, and seven in the south west alone.

Salcombe at £672,874 in Devon and Sandbanks at £614,726 in Dorset are the two most expensive seaside towns in Great Britain and both are in the south west. Outside this region the most expensive seaside towns are Aldeburgh on the Suffolk coast with an average price of £413,393, Lymington in the New Forest at £404,781 and East Wittering in West Sussex at £330,146.

Outside southern England, the most expensive seaside areas are the Scottish towns of St. Andrews at £294,586, North Berwick at £294,076 and Stonehaven at £243,741 while in Wales the most expensive is the Mumbles at £271,349.

The biggest house price rises in the average price of seaside towns over the past decade were all recorded in Scotland. Fraserburgh in Aberdeenshire recorded the largest rise, with a 109% increase in listing values from £63,540 in 2005 to £132,920 in 2015. Lerwick in the Shetlands and Peterhead in Aberdeenshire saw the next largest rises both 102%.

A further 15 coastal towns out of a total of 59 surveyed have recorded price increases of at least 50% since 2005. Partly due to the substantial rises in the top performing towns, the average house price in Scotland’s seaside towns rose by 38% between 2005 and 2014, exceeding the 31% increase for Great Britain as a whole.

Newtonhill saw the largest house price increase over the last year, going from £199,902 in 2013 to £240,899 in 2014, a rise of 21%, followed by Dalgety Bay at 16% and Macduff at 15%.

The research also shows an east/west divide in house prices in Scottish seaside towns, with nine of the 10 most expensive seaside towns being located on the eastern coastline while all of the 10 least expensive seaside towns are in western Scotland. Port Bannantyne is the most inexpensive in Scotland with an average price of £73,539.

Outside Scotland, the biggest increase in average prices during the last 10 years was recorded in Salcombe with growth of 69%, followed by Workington in Cumbria up 60% and Brighton up 58%.

House prices have continued to increase in several seaside towns over the past year. Newtonhill in Aberdeenshire and Shoreham by the Sea recorded the largest average price growth in the last 12 months, with increases of 20%, four times the average increase for all seaside towns in the past year which was 5%.

The next biggest price rises were in Sandwich in Kent and Watchet in Somerset, both with year on year growth of 18%, followed by Seaton on the Devon coast at 17% and Dalgety Bay in Fife at 16%.

Overall Port Bannatyne on the Isle of Bute in Scotland is the least expensive seaside town in this survey, with an average listing price of £73,539 which is almost £600,000 lower than in Salcombe, the most expensive seaside town.

Just ahead of Port Bannatyne are Newbiggin-by-the-Sea in Northumberland and Campbeltown in Argyll and Bute, with an average house price of £81,339 and £85,659 respectively. In all, there are 13 towns in this survey with an average price below £100,000.

Away from northern Britain, the least expensive seaside towns are Lowestoft with an average listing value of £153,025, followed by Great Yarmouth at £159,965 and Margate at £164,995.

‘Seaside towns have a distinct attraction, offering that all important sea view with a typically high quality of life in a healthy environment. There is a romance associated with living by the sea and this is evident in the high house prices seen in many of these areas,’ said Craig McKinlay, Halifax mortgages director.

‘Some of the most expensive seaside towns in Britain are dotted along the southern England coastline while many of the least expensive are in the north, particularly in Scotland. Despite a clear north-south divide in listing prices among seaside towns, the rapid price growth in many Scottish seaside towns over the last 10 years suggests the popularity of coastal living has spread out across the whole country. Of course, the boom in the Scottish oil sector during the period also provided a boost to house prices, particularly in several towns along the Aberdeenshire coastline,’ he added.

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Source: Property News Spain