With summer in full swing and temperatures rising, GetAgent has analysed the property market performance of the UK’s most popular coastal towns.

The agent comparison site looked at the current property values in each location and the house price premium when compared to the UK average.

It found that a property in a coastal hotspot will set you back an average of £324,789, some £46,362 more than the average UK home – a 17% house price premium.

Highest coastal house prices

Despite being home to some of the priciest homes in the UK, the prestigious Sandbanks in Dorset ranks just third where the overall average price of property is concerned. The area is home to an average of £643,200 – some 131% above the UK average.

Interestingly, it’s the Cornish coastal hotspots of Salcombe and Padstow that currently command the highest price.

At over £1 million, Salcombe is far the most illustrious coastal hotspot, coming in 277% more expensive than the wider UK average. Meanwhile, the cost of buying in Padstow is far more affordable at £685,465, but will still see you pay a 146% house price premium versus the national average.

Lymington (122%), Southwold (111%) and Fowey (105%) are also home to an average house price more than double the UK average, with the average property value exceeding the half a million mark in Wadebridge, Rock and North Berwick.

Perranporth and Budleigh Salterton complete the top 10 coastal hotspots commanding the highest house price premiums in the current market. 

Affordable seaside locations

There are, however, no less than 41 coastal towns where the average cost of buying sits below the wider UK average.

The most affordable of the lot is Millport on the Scottish island of Great Cumbrae, where the average property costs just shy of £81,000, -71% below the UK average.

Irvine (-65%), Blackpool (-61%), Girvan, Rothesay and Port Bannatyne (-60%) also come in around 60% below the national average, making them the most affordable hotspots for investors.

Strongest coastal house price growth

North Berwick ranks top when it comes to house price performance in the last year, with property values up by a huge 38%.

In Exmouth, they’ve climbed 35%, while homeowners in Stranraer, Porthcawl and Great Yarmouth have enjoyed a 31% jump in the value of their homes. 

Conversely, Invergordon has seen the biggest drop in property values on an annual basis at -13%, with Burntisland (-7%), Seahouses (-5%), Girvan (-2%) and Aldeburgh (-2%) the only other coastal towns to have seen a decline. 

Turbocharged by the pandemic

Colby Short, GetAgent’s founder and chief executive officer, comments: “As an island nation, coastal towns have always been incredibly popular as locals and holidaymakers alike search for that perfect piece of the property market complete with a sea view.”

“However, it’s fair to say that the pandemic has helped to turbocharge house prices pretty much the length and breadth of the British coastline.”

Short says not only are the most desirable towns across the South West continuing to command incredibly high market values at present but there has been some vast rates of house price growth in the last year alone. 

“But while the pandemic may have helped drive this market performance to some extent, our obsession with being beside the sea is no short-term fad and so investing in a coastal property is always a smart move,” he concludes.