East Wittering Makes Top Ten List of Most Expensive Coastal Homes

New research by Halifax suggests the average price of a home by the sea across the UK has gone up more than £22,000 - thanks to the pandemic.

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.

That's according to the lending giant Halifax, who said the average value of a British seaside property rose to £287,087 last year.

In comparison, that's up 8% - or £22,082 - from 2020 alone, thanks to more people deciding to work from their own homes. In comparison, over the past decade, houses by the sea have soared by 50%, or £95,599.

Sandbanks in Dorset was the most expensive seaside town, with average prices surging 10% year-on-year to £929,187, the analysis of Land Registry house price data showed.

It was followed by Salcombe in Devon in second place, down from pole position in 2020.

Here in West Sussex, East Wittering made Number 9 on the list which has seen a boom in tourism in recent years, and sees houses costing just shy of half a million pounds - more than £200k off the average cost of a coastal home across the rest of the country.

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.

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