Britain’s most expensive seaside town is a 50-minute drive from …
Britain’s most expensive seaside town to buy a home in 2022 is just a 50-minute drive from Plymouth. Properties in Salcombe were found to have an average of a £1,244,025 price tag throughout the last year.
Located within an area of outstanding natural beauty and just 26 miles from Britain’s Ocean City, Salcombe swapped places with Sandbanks in Dorset, which was previously named by Halifax as the priciest seaside spot. The bank analysed house price data for the 12 months to December 2022 to make the findings, looking at 209 coastal locations in total.
As well as attracting ramblers, Salcombe’s[1] estuary location also makes it a popular place for activities on the water. Back in 2012, the average house price in Salcombe, at £558,538, was less than half the typical 2022 value.
Five other locations close to Plymouth[2] were also included in the list of top ten most expensive places to purchase a home. Padstow was fourth on the list with an average of £790,847. Padstow is 54.6 miles from Plymouth.
Dartmouth ranked seventh with an average price tag of £567,985 – and it is just 31 miles from Plymouth. The closest town at number eight on the list is Kingsbridge, just 22.8 miles away. It has an average price tag of £556,659.
Wadebridge ranked ninth, with an average house price of £548,669. Last on the list at number ten was Budleigh Salterton, with an average of £537,681.
At the other end of the spectrum, Greenock in Inverclyde, Scotland, was found to have the lowest average house price of the seaside locations analysed, at £97,608.
Scotland dominated Halifax’s top 10 list of the least expensive seaside locations. Halifax’s study indicated that, in general, the cost of coastal homes across Britain has increased by 56% between 2012 and 2022, from £195,509 to £304,460.
Salcombe attracts thousands of visitors each year (Image: Devon Live/Reach plc)
As well as Salcombe’s house price doubling in the last ten years, other locations where house prices have at least doubled over the past decade include Margate and Westgate-on-Sea in Kent.
By the end of 2022, a home in Margate cost 109% more, on average, than it did in 2012, rising from £146,276 to £305,191, and the average cost of a property in Westgate-on-Sea doubled, from £154,686 to £308,764.
Kim Kinnaird, mortgages director at Halifax, said: “For many, owning a home by the sea is an aspiration, 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 spot, Salcombe in Devon, will set buyers back over £1.2 million on average.
“When we delve deeper into the cost of Britain’s seaside homes, it’s clear that there is a broad spectrum in house prices. Whilst million-pound properties are abundant in the south west of England, in contrast, homes in Greenock in Scotland are valued on average at less than £100,000.
“Second home ownership undoubtedly plays a role in driving up prices in the most desirable locations. While house prices in any location are driven by factors such as supply and demand and interest rates, there are also socio-economic factors at play. Some of these factors are more acute in Britain’s coastal communities, and many British towns most in need of investment also sit near the shore.”
Halifax used Land Registry data covering England and Wales, in addition to figures from the Registers of Scotland, to make the findings.
Here are Britain’s most expensive locations to buy a seaside home out of the 209 locations analysed, according to Halifax, with the average house price (based on figures for the 12 months to December 2022).
Britain’s most expensive seaside locations
1. Salcombe, Devon, South West, £1,244,025
2. Sandbanks, Dorset, South West, £952,692
3. Aldeburgh, Suffolk, East of England, £794,492
4. Padstow, Cornwall, South West, £790,847
5. Lymington, Hampshire, South East, £663,474
6. Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, South East, £611,816
7. Dartmouth, Devon, South West, £567,985
8. Kingsbridge, Devon, South West, £556,659
9. Wadebridge, Cornwall, South West, £548,669
10. Budleigh Salterton, Devon, South West, £537,681
Here are Britain’s least expensive locations to buy a seaside home out of the 209 locations analysed, according to Halifax, with the average house price (based on figures for the 12 months to December 2022):
1. Greenock, Inverclyde, Scotland, £97,608
2. Girvan, Ayrshire, Scotland, £105,410
3. Millport, Ayrshire, Scotland, £111,381
4. Invergordon, Ross and Cromarty, Scotland £114,962
5. Saltcoats, Ayrshire, Scotland, £116,414
6. Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, Northumberland, North East, £117,663
7. Stranraer, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, £117,884
8. Wick, Caithness, Scotland, £124,857
9. Thurso, Caithness, Scotland, £126,716
10. Campbeltown, Argyll and Bute, Scotland, £129,348
And here are the locations with the biggest house price increases between 2012 and 2022, according to Halifax, with the average house price in 2022 followed by the percentage increase:
1. Salcombe, Devon, South West, £1,244,025, 123%
2. Margate, Kent, South East, £305,191, 109%
3. Westgate-on-Sea, Kent, South East, £308,764, 100%
=4. Birchington, Kent, South East, £386,040, 98%
=4. Aldeburgh, Suffolk, East of England, £794,492, 98%
=6. Deal, Kent, South East, £391,325, 97%
=6. Ramsgate, Kent, South East, £307,737, 97%
=6. Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, South East, £611,816, 97%
9. Whitstable, Kent, South East, £483,692, 95%
=10. Padstow, Cornwall, South West, £790,847, 94%
=10. Burnham-On-Crouch, Essex, East of England, £418,609, 94%
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