Sandbanks is the most expensive seaside town

Average property prices last year surged 10% on 2020 to more than 929-thousand pounds.

Lymington, Lyme Regis and East Wittering are also in the top ten priciest seaside towns, according to Halifax.

The average price of a home by the sea has jumped by more than £22,000, with coastal property values boosted by the switch to home working during the pandemic, according to a report.

Sandbanks is followed by Salcombe in Devon in second place, down from pole position in 2020, with a typical property costing £912,599, as the South West dominated the ranking.

Last year's price gains mean properties by the sea have soared by 50% or £95,599 over the past decade, with a 27% leap in the past five years.

Many Britons have looked to buy in more remote locations and move away from cities in the past two years as the pandemic saw a shift towards working from home.

Russell Galley, managing director of Halifax, said: "Our ongoing love affair with living by the sea shows few signs of abating.

"Homes on the coast have long attracted a premium price, and this was no different in 2021, with the move towards working from home being an ongoing influence on where people choose to live.

"Whether it's a lifestyle sought, the scenery or the sea air, when it comes to buying homes, we really do love to be beside the seaside."

Millport, on the Isle of Cumbrae in North Ayrshire, Scotland - the study's least expensive seaside town in 2020 - has seen the biggest increase in average prices of any coastal town over the past year, up by more than half (53%) from £74,148 to £113,292.

But Scotland also features throughout the list of Britain's cheapest seaside towns, with Campbeltown in Argyll and Bute offering the most affordable properties at an average of just £91,201.

Over the past decade, Margate in the South East has seen the biggest average price rise of any seaside town, with prices jumping by 98% or £139,814, from £142,920 to £282,734.

Here are Britain's most expensive seaside towns according to Halifax, with the average house price:

1. Sandbanks, Dorset, South West, £929,187

2. Salcombe, Devon, South West, £912,599

3. Padstow, Cornwall, South West, £588,090

4. Lymington, Hampshire, South West, £565,790

5. Aldeburgh, Suffolk, East Anglia, £515,444

6. Fowey, Cornwall, South West, £491,042

7. Dartmouth, Devon, South West, £485,760

8. Lyme Regis, Dorset, South West, £473,861

9. East Wittering, West Sussex, South East, £472,364

10. Kingsbridge, Devon, South West, £464,858

Here are Britain's least expensive seaside towns according to Halifax, with the average house price:

1. Campbeltown, Argyll and Bute, Scotland, £91,201

2. Girvan, South Ayrshire, Scotland, £101,676

3. Greenock, Inverclyde, Scotland, £103,496

4. Ardrossan, North Ayrshire, Scotland, £104,990

5. Saltcoats, North Ayrshire, Scotland, £105,505

6. Wick, Highland, Scotland, £105,686

7. Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, Northumberland, North, £108,957

8. Port Bannatyne, Isle of Bute, Firth of Clyde, Scotland, £111,717

9. Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotland, £111,742

10. Millport, North Ayrshire, Scotland, £113,292

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