Cornwall best performing seaside town

Rock in Cornwall was the best performing seaside town in England and Wales last year with the average house price rising by 28% from £282,097 in 2006 to £361,838 in 2007, according to Halifax Estate Agents.

After Rock, the next best performing seaside towns in 2007 were Sandbanks in Dorset (22% to £628,014) and Fowey in Cornwall (up 20% to £342,885). Tenby was the highest ranked seaside town in Wales; in sixth place overall in England and Wales, where the average house price rose by 15% to £230,414. Alnmouth in Northumberland was the best performing seaside town in the North of England with a 17% price rise to £227,120.

The majority of the best performers are in the South. Seventeen seaside towns in Southern England are in last year's top 25 best performing coastal towns. The remainder includes three towns in the North; Alnmouth with average house price growth of 17%, Maryport (17%) and Whitehaven (11%). There are also two Welsh towns; Tenby (15%) and Pwllheli (14%). The other three towns are in Yorkshire and the Humber; Cleethorpes (14%), Withernsea (13%) and Robin Hood's Bay (11%).

The average house price growth for all seaside towns in England and Wales during 2007 was 8%, with the average house price increasing from £192,417 in 2006 to £208,362 in 2007. This was below the average 14% increase for England and Wales as a whole.

Strongest House Price Growth in Five Years to 2007

Seaham in County Durham saw the biggest average house price growth in the last five years with a 193% increase from £43,121 in 2002 to £126,348 in 2007. Maryport in Cumbria had the second biggest price increase (144%). Nonetheless, the two towns still have relatively low prices and both feature amongst the seven seaside towns with the lowest average price in the survey.

Eighteen coastal towns - nearly 20% of those surveyed - experienced average house price growth of at least 100 % over the five years.

House price growth in seaside towns averaged 78% between 2002 and 2007, outperforming prices across England and Wales as a whole (67%).

All 25 seaside towns recording the largest house price increases between 2002 and 2007 are outside Southern England with the exception of Rock.

Most Expensive Seaside Towns

The most expensive seaside town is Sandbanks in Dorset with an average price of £628,014. Sandbanks in Dorset is one of the most expensive towns in the UK and attracts buyers from across the UK and abroad. The average house price in Sandbanks has increased by 77% since 2002 when it was also the most expensive seaside town with an average house price of £354,474.

Nine of the ten most expensive seaside towns are in the South West. Rock in Cornwall (£361,838) and Milford on Sea in Hampshire (£351,859) are the most expensive seaside towns after Sandbanks. Rock has become the second most expensive seaside town in 2007 compared to 13th in 2002 with average prices rising by 124% in the last five years.

The Mumbles is the most expensive seaside in town Wales, with an average house price of £275,150 making it the 12th most expensive in England and Wales. Five years ago The Mumbles was the 30th most expensive seaside town with an average house price of £137,638.

Least Expensive Seaside Towns

Withernsea, on the Yorkshire and the Humber coast, is the least expensive seaside town surveyed in England and Wales with an average house price of £116,923 in 2007. In 2002, Withernsea was the second least expensive seaside town with an average house price of £49,579.

Blyth in Northumberland is the second least expensive seaside town, with an average house price of £117,504 in 2007, an increase of 9% during 2007 and 95% in the last five years.

Gordon Edwards, managing director, Halifax Estate Agents, said: "Seaside towns again saw good house price growth last year. Properties in quite a few seaside towns have more than doubled in price over the past five years. Many seaside towns trade at a significant premium to the house prices in the surrounding inland towns.

We now expect some decline in property prices in seaside towns. Whilst they are not immune to wider market developments, there will continue to be a premium for coastal properties as people will always like to live by the seaside".