Salcombe in Devon has highest house prices of any seaside town, says Halifax

Britain’s most expensive places to live by the sea have been revealed in an annual survey, with a new leader of the pack announced for 2023.

Topping the list is the affluent seaside town of Salcombe in Devon, where the average price of a property is £1,244,025.

Halifax’s annual study tracked house prices in 209 seaside locations in Britain using data from Scotland’s Land Registry and Registers.

Pictured: Top of the list is the affluent seaside town of Salcombe in Devon, where the average price of a property is £1,244,025

The eye-watering price tag of an average house in Salcombe is more than three times that of an average priced house in Britain, which stands at £344,185.

And it’s four times the median house price in a seaside town, which is currently £304,460.

Salcombe has traded places with last year’s most expensive place, the millionaires’ playground of Sandbanks in Dorset, where the average house price is £952,692.

Salcombe has traded places with last year’s most expensive place, the millionaires’ playground of Sandbanks in Dorset (pictured), where the average house price is £952,692

Pictured: Budleigh Salterton, a coastal seaside town in East Devon, also ranks in the top most expensive seaside towns to live in, with an average house price of £537,681

In third place is Aldeburgh, with a mid-priced Suffolk beauty salon property, setting buyers back £794,492. It is the only place outside the south west or south east of England to feature in the top ten.

The lowest average price for a house near the sea can be found in Greenock, Scotland, where houses cost an average of £97,608.

With the exception of Newbiggin-by-the Sea in the North East of England, nine of the ten cheapest seaside locations are in Scotland.

The cost of coastal homes in Britain has more than doubled between 2012 and 2022 – an increase of 56 per cent.

Property sellers in Salcombe made the biggest gains as average prices rose 123 per cent from £558,538 to £1,244,025 over the past decade.

By the end of 2022, homes in Margate will cost an average of 109 per cent more than in 2012, an increase of £146,276 compared to £305,191, while properties in Westgate-on-Sea have increased by 100 per cent over the past 10 years. from £154,686 to £308,764.

Looking at growth in 2022 compared to the previous year, house prices in Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight rose the most – up 53 per cent on average – to £611,816, from £399,206 in 2021.

Pictured: Aldeburgh in Suffolk is one of the coastal locations with the biggest house price rises in a year (2021 vs 2022)

Homebuyers in Aldeburgh, Suffolk need an average of £794,492 – up 47 per cent in 2022 from £539,882 in 2021 – while those looking to buy a property in Campbeltown, Scotland saw prices rise 42 per cent last year to £129,348 – from £91,201 in 2021.

Kim Kinnaird, from Halifax, said: ‘For many, owning a home by the sea is an ambition, with coastal living offering beach walks, clean air and other health benefits.

‘But this comes at a price in many locations and Britain’s most expensive seaside resort, Salcombe in Devon, will cost buyers more than £1.2 million on average.

‘If we look more closely at the cost of British seaside homes, it is clear that there is a broad spectrum of house prices. While million-pound properties abound in the South West of England, on the other hand, houses in Greenock, Scotland are valued on average at less than £100,000.’

Pictured: Lymington in Hampshire is one of the coastal locations with the biggest house price rises in the past decade

She added that people buying second homes in desirable seaside locations help to increase values.

She explained: ‘Owning a second home undoubtedly plays a part in driving up prices in the most desirable locations.

While house prices in any location are determined by factors such as supply and demand and interest rates, socio-economic factors are also at play.

“Some of these factors are more acute in Britain’s coastal communities, and many of the UK’s cities most in need of investment are also close to the coast.”

Robin Thomas, from purchasing agency Recoco Property Search, said: ‘Salcombe is a small but very desirable town. Located in the South Hams area of ​​Devon, an Area of ​​Outstanding Natural Beauty, Salcombe impresses with a natural and sheltered harbour, a beautiful rural backdrop and a wide choice of local shops, restaurants and bars.

“In order to preserve the charm of the city and protect the surrounding nature, the local planning authority wants to prevent overdevelopment, which means that buyer demand always exceeds the number of available homes. This in turn leads to local property prices being the highest in Devon.’