A NEW map has revealed the cheapest spots to snap up a seaside town home in the UK.
Halifax property experts ranked 209 coastal locations by their average house prices in the 12 months to December 2022.
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Scotland dominates the top 10 least expensive seaside spots, with Greenock in Inverclyde ranked the cheapest of all at £97,608.
Girvan, Millport and Saltcoats in Ayrshire are all on the list, with average house prices ranging from £105,410 to £116,414.
Invergordon in Ross and Stanraer in Dumfries and Galloway also rank among the top ten, along with Wick and Thurso in Caithness and Campbeltown in Argyll and Bute.
The only spot outside Scotland to make the list is Newbiggin-by-the-Sea in Northumberland, where the average price of a home is £117,663.
Halifax also ranked the ten most expensive seaside spots, with Salcombe in Devon topping the list.
Located within an area of outstanding natural beauty, Salcombe swapped places with Sandbanks in Dorset, which was previously named by Halifax as the priciest seaside spot.
It found the average house price in Salcombe last year was just over £1.2 million.
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As well as attracting ramblers, Salcombe’s estuary location also makes it a popular place for activities on the water.
Halifax’s study indicated that, in general, the cost of coastal homes across Britain has increased by 56% between 2012 and 2022, from £195,509 to £304,460.
During the early months of the coronavirus pandemic, coastal and rural locations were particularly popular as house hunters embarked on a “race for space”.
Many of the most expensive seaside locations were found along the coastline of southern England, in areas popular with second home owners.
Back in 2012, the average house price in Salcombe, at £558,538, was less than half the typical 2022 value.
Other locations where house prices have at least doubled over the past decade include Margate and Westgate-on-Sea in Kent.
By the end of 2022, a home in Margate cost 109% more, on average, than it did in 2012, rising from £146,276 to £305,191, and the average cost of a property in Westgate-on-Sea doubled, from £154,686 to £308,764.
Halifax’s Kim Kinnaird said: “For many, owning a home by the sea is an aspiration, with coastal living offering beach walks, clean air and other health benefits.
“But this comes at a price in many locations and Britain’s most expensive seaside spot, Salcombe in Devon, will set buyers back over £1.2 million on average.
“When we delve deeper into the cost of Britain’s seaside homes, it’s clear that there is a broad spectrum in house prices.
“While million-pound properties are abundant in the south west of England, in contrast, homes in Greenock in Scotland are valued on average at less than £100,000.
“Second home ownership undoubtedly plays a role in driving up prices in the most desirable locations.
“While house prices in any location are driven by factors such as supply and demand and interest rates, there are also socio-economic factors at play.
“Some of these factors are more acute in Britain’s coastal communities, and many British towns most in need of investment also sit near the shore.”
It comes after residents of an idyllic seaside resort were devastated when it became a “ghost town” with empty bars and derelict shops.
Brean in Somerset is dominated by the giant Pontins Holiday Park, but this year thousands of holidaymakers will be missing.
For the next three years, the camp will be taken over by construction workers at the nearby Hinkley Point C nuclear power station.
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