The UK seaside towns where house prices are soaring
Key Points
- UK house prices are showing muted growth, but there are some seaside towns where house prices are growing strongly along with demand.
- The town of Bootle in Merseyside showed the highest house price growth over the past year, while still sitting among the 10 cheapest seaside towns in the UK.
- House prices in the UK remain strongly dependent on region, with most of the affordable coastal towns in the North West and North East, while the most expensive are in the South of England.
House prices may be flattening in most of the UK, but in a few seaside hotspots they are continuing to skyrocket.
Property prices in coastal towns are generally lower than the national average, and the areas that saw the most growth last year are in more affordable regions of the UK, including Scotland, Wales, and the North West of England.
This means that coastal living remains relatively accessible compared with house prices elsewhere in the UK, and those working remotely or moving out of cities are driving demand for houses in more affordable areas by the sea.
Based on data from online property platform Rightmove, the UK seaside town where house prices grew the most last year was Bootle in Merseyside.
Situated along the coast just north of Liverpool, Bootle saw local asking prices increase by 11% year-on-year, to an average price of £141,680.
Bootle was closely followed by another coastal town just 10 minutes away, Crosby, which saw average asking prices increase by 9% year-on-year to £330,900.
Some of the cheapest seaside towns were also situated in the North West, with others located in the North East and Scotland.
“The fastest-growing seaside markets this year show that demand for coastal homes in many areas remains resilient, even as overall price growth across the UK stays more modest,” said Rightmove property expert Colleen Babcock.
“While some locations are seeing strong price increases, there are still many areas where living by the sea is more affordable, giving buyers a wider range of options depending on their budget.”
“We’re also seeing that homes priced realistically continue to attract interest, particularly in locations where price growth is being supported by buyer demand,” she said.
Seaside house price hotspots
Of the top ten coastal house price hotspots, four were in the North West, five were in Wales, and one was in Scotland.
Nine of the top ten house price hotspots are priced below the national average house price of £378,304.
Below are the seaside towns where house prices increased the most compared to last year.
| Coastal area | Region/country | Average price | YoY Price Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bootle, Merseyside | North West | £141,680 | +11% |
| Crosby, Liverpool, Merseyside | North West | £330,900 | +9% |
| Penarth, South Glamorgan, Vale Of Glamorgan | Wales | £433,081 | +8% |
| Llantwit Major, South Glamorgan, Vale Of Glamorgan, The | Wales | £340,033 | +8% |
| Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Mid Wales | Wales | £201,570 | +7% |
| Wallasey, Merseyside | North West | £200,753 | +7% |
| Bangor, Gwynedd | Wales | £220,622 | +7% |
| Porthcawl, South Glamorgan, Bridgend (County of) | Wales | £359,412 | +6% |
| Barrow-In-Furness, Cumbria | North West | £185,169 | +6% |
| Helensburgh, Dunbartonshire | Scotland | £247,953 | +6% |
Cheapest seaside towns
The cheapest seaside town is Peterlee in County Durham, which has an average asking price of £120,657, down 3% compared to last year.
Bootle appears again in the top ten cheapest seaside towns, despite seeing impressive growth of 11% in its average asking price last year.
Below are the cheapest seaside towns in the UK, according to data from Rightmove.
| Coastal area | Region/country | Average price | YoY Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peterlee, County Durham | North East | £120,657 | -3% |
| Grimsby, Lincolnshire | Yorkshire and The Humber | £133,706 | +2% |
| Ashington, Northumberland | North East | £133,775 | +2% |
| Bootle, Merseyside | North West | £141,680 | +11% |
| Blackpool, Lancashire | North West | £142,277 | +1% |
| Fleetwood, Lancashire | North West | £147,910 | +2% |
| Birkenhead, Wirral, Merseyside | North West | £148,942 | +4% |
| Workington, Cumbria | North West | £155,013 | +2% |
| Ayr, Ayrshire | Scotland | £157,754 | +1% |
| Seaham, County Durham | North East | £157,994 | -1% |
Most expensive seaside towns
On the other end of the spectrum, the most expensive coastal towns are located in the South of England, and include the regions of Dorset, Hampshire, Devon, and Cornwall.
The most expensive seaside town was Sandbanks in Poole, with an average asking price of £1,119,945, down 4% from last year.
The only other seaside town with an asking price of more than £1 million was the nearby Canford Cliffs, where house prices rose by 4% last year to an average of £1,045,533.
Below are the ten most expensive seaside towns in the UK, according to data from Rightmove.
| Coastal area | Region | Average price | YoY Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sandbanks, Poole, Dorset | South West | £1,119,945 | -4% |
| Canford Cliffs, Poole, Dorset | South West | £1,045,533 | +4% |
| Lymington, Hampshire | South East | £545,926 | -1% |
| Barton On Sea, New Milton, Hampshire | South East | £496,143 | -2% |
| Lyme Regis, Dorset | South West | £474,417 | -7% |
| St. Ives, Cornwall | South West | £461,959 | -7% |
| Shoreham-By-Sea, West Sussex | South East | £455,939 | +4% |
| Swanage, Dorset | South West | £455,347 | -3% |
| Sidmouth, Devon | South West | £450,971 | -6% |
| Saltdean, East Sussex | South East | £449,007 | -1% |
