Desirable seaside towns on the South coast will cost you £627,000 but much less in the North of Britain and still rank highly on the happiness score.
Research from the Halifax has revealed the priciest seaside towns are located on the South coast with average prices of £626,553 whereas you can buy a bargain in the North of Britain for under £100,000.
Russell Galley Managing Director, Halifax said, it is no surprise that the South coast continues to be home to the most expensive seaside towns in the country, including those with the greatest growth in house prices over the last 10 years.
For homeowners in seaside towns an advantage of rising prices is remortgage buyers can now release capital for home improvements, further increasing their property value.
The town with the highest happiness score out of ten is Aldeburgh in East Anglia at 8.2 which gets 32 hours of sunshine per week compared to the average of 30 hours per week.
Highest prices on South coast
It is no surprise most expensive areas are for homes located on the South coast with average prices in Southbanks of £626,553 followed by Salcombe in South Devon of £577,591.
Even so both these locations have seen prices fall in the last year of £37,494 for Southbanks or £52,702 for Salcombe and home movers leaving areas with rising property values could now afford these seaside towns.
This fall is likely to have been impacted by the higher costs of stamp duty for these more expensive homes, says Mr Galley.
The following table from the Halifax shows average house prices of the top ten seaside resorts, the happiness score and sunshine in hours per week homeowners to June 2018.
| Seaside town | House price | Happiness |
Sunshine |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sandbanks | £626,553 | 7.6 | 33 |
| Salcombe | £577,591 | 7.6 | 31 |
| Aldeburgh | £535,872 | 8.2 | 32 |
| Lymington | £487,143 | 7.5 | 33 |
| Padstow | £435,833 | 7.6 | 32 |
| Dartmouth | £431,539 | 7.6 | 31 |
| East Wittering | £414,005 | 7.9 | 33 |
| Fowey | £403,622 | 7.6 | 32 |
| Lyme Regis | £397,584 | 7.7 | 32 |
| Budleigh Salterton | £396,034 | 7.8 | 31 |
The majority of Britain’s top twenty seaside towns are located in the South East and 2008 the average house price has increased by 21% from an average of £193,859 ten years ago to £234,654 in 2018.
For buy-to-let landlords the higher prices in seaside towns means they would need a larger deposit to reduce the mortgage or higher rental income to cover the interest payments.
The seaside town with the largest rise in property values since 2008 is Burnham On Crouch up 57% from £210,404 to £330,684.
High house prices in the South East means first time buyers would require larger deposits or higher earnings to purchase their first home in a seaside town.
In contrast, for older homeowners living in the most expensive seaside towns the equity release buyer can access wealth using a lifetime mortgage, improving their quality of life in an idyllic setting.
Cheapest seaside towns in the North
You don’t have to pay six figures to live by the seaside and the cheapest towns range from Millport on the island of Great Cumbrae in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland with an average house price of £81,233.
Nine of the cheapest top ten are in Scotland and England’s least expensive seaside town is Newbiggin by the Sea in Northumberland, with an average house price of £94,385.
Seven seaside towns have an average house price below £100,000 with hours of sunshine per week from 21 to 26 which is less than the most expensive seaside towns from 31 to 33.
In terms of happiness score the highest is Newbiggin by the Sea in Northumberland with 8.1 (which is the second highest overall), 26 hours of sunshine per week and average property value of £94,385.
The lowest happiness score is Ardrossan in Scotland with 7.3 compared to the most expensive seaside towns where Lymington with 7.5 is the lowest suggesting homeowners are just as happy in the cheapest seaside towns.
Mr Galley said, having a postcard view can be a dream that comes with a hefty price tag attached, but while more sun is undoubtedly appealing, it doesn’t appear to guarantee happy homeowners.
What are your next steps?
Talk to our London City Mortgage advisers if you are an older homeowner releasing equity from your property, we can recommend the lifetime mortgage to access wealth for home or garden improvements and holidays or pay for care at home.
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