Falmouth heads seaside house price rises
Wednesday, 31 Aug 2005 12:24
Penzance: only behind Falmouth for highest house prices rises since 1995
The Cornish towns of Falmouth and Penzance have seen the largest increases in house prices over the last ten years of any seaside towns in the UK.
Prices in both towns have increased by over 300 per cent since 1995, but they are still far more affordable than the country's most expensive seaside town.
The average property in Sandbanks, Dorset, sells at £531,280, according to a Halifax Estate Agents which has conducted research showing that homeowners continue to pay a premium for living by the sea.
It shows that 17 of the 20 seaside locations with the highest house price rises over the last decade were in the south-east or south-west.
Sandbanks is also second in the list of seaside towns to have experienced the highest price increases in the last 12 months – with a rise of 34.2 per cent – behind only Maryport in Cumbria, which has seen prices rise by 42 per cent.
Joined by Barrow in Furness, Whitehaven and Workington in the list of seaside towns with the highest price rises over the last 12 months, Maryport heads something of both a Cumbrian and northern renaissance in a list dominated by the south over the last decade.
Despite this they are still among the more affordable seaside towns in the country, although the honour of most affordable seaside town falls to Hartlepool in the north-east where the average house price is £77,557.
Halifax Estate Agents' managing director, Colin Kemp, said: "Comparing property prices in seaside towns over the last decade with the past 12 months reveals an interesting picture.
"Over the ten year period, coastal properties in the south have been the strongest performing in terms of house price rises but in the last year, it has been locations in the north that have witnessed the biggest increases.
"What is clear from the research is that homebuyers are still prepared to pay more in order to enjoy living by the sea."
Most expensive seaside towns
Sandbanks, Dorset
Lymington, Hampshire
Sidmouth, Devon
Christchurch, Dorset
Falmouth, Cornwall
Swanage, Dorset
Hythe, Hampshire
The Mumbles, Neath
Brancaster, Norfolk
Teignmouth, Devon
Most affordable seaside towns
Hartlepool, County Durham
Blyth, Northumberland
Barrow in Furness, Cumbria
Workington, Cumbria
Grimsby, Lincolnshire
South Shields, Tyne and Wear
Maryport, Cumbria
Whitehaven, Cumbria
Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire
Morecambe, Lancashire