"Whether you’re seeking the city lifestyle that Brighton has to offer, a luxurious offering in the South West, or an affordable property to call your own in Scotland, there are seaside options for every price range"
Digital property pack provider, Moverly, analysed the cost and quantity of sales in seaside towns up and down the UK to reveal which has seen the highest total value of bricks and mortar change hands over the last 12 months.
Brighton - known for its liberal culture - has relatively high property prices of £414,093 and with an estimated 2,208 homes sold across the BN1, BN2 and BN3 postcodes over the last year, Brighton has not only seen the highest number of property purchases but it also ranks top where the total value of homes sold is concerned at £914.3m.
In a distant second place comes Worthing, West Sussex, with over £252.6m worth of property sold over the last year.
Lymington, Hampshire, takes the bronze where an estimated 396 homes have sold across the SO41 postcode in the last 12 months to the tune of £197.2m.
Other areas to feature within the top 10 include Bognor Regis (£188.5m), Christchurch (£187m), Southend on Sea (£180.5m), Eastbourne (£169.3m), Leigh on Sea (£152.8m), Southport (£128.5m), Paignton (£122.8m).
South West dominates luxury hotspots
The South West of England is known for its mild climate and plentiful beaches, but that comes at a cost.
Salcombe in Devon is the highest-priced area contained in the study, with a typical sold price of £759,916, though the area has a low number of sales of just 24 in the last 12 months.
After that comes Sandbanks in Dorset, with an average price of £610,964, followed by Padstow, Cornwall, at £509,935.
Scotland - where £100k goes a long way
If you’re willing to buy in Scotland then owning a seaside property doesn’t have to be a high-priced endeavour.
For a remote lifestyle, you can snap up a property in Millport, which is a town on the island of Great Cumbrae, for an average of just £86,599.
Back in the Scottish mainland, Irvine in Scotland (£88,650) and Campbeltown in Argyll and Bute (£93,964) are two other areas where purchases average under £100,000.
These are quiet markets, with annual sales totalling 36 in Millport, 84 in Campbelltown, and 180 in Irvine.
Moverly co-founder Ed Molyneux, commented: “Whether you’re seeking the city lifestyle that Brighton has to offer, a luxurious offering in the South West, or an affordable property to call your own in Scotland, there are seaside options for every price range.
“During the pandemic, travel restrictions forced homeowners to look closer to home for seaside destinations, which has likely opened people’s eyes regarding the natural beauty that can be found here in the British Isles.
"Of course, a seaside property will come at a varying degree of cost depending on where you look to buy and homebuyers can expect to pay a far higher price when looking along the southern stretch of our coastline.”
