HOUSE prices in the UK’s seaside towns have increased by a quarter on average over the past decade.

Sandbanks tops the list as the country’s most expensive seaside town with the average price of a home at £664,051. In second place is Salcombe in South Devon, £617,743, and Aldeburgh in East Anglia at £526,689.

Outside the South of England the most expensive seaside locations are the Scottish towns of North Berwick and St Andrews where house prices are £314,435 and £300,319 respectively. They are followed by Mumbles in South Wales where the average house price is £284,804.

Martin Ellis, Halifax housing economist, said: “Seaside towns are extremely popular places to live, offering sought-after views and desirable weather. Being by the seaside does come at a price – with the marked increase in house prices reflecting the demand for rooms with a ‘sea’ view.

“Over the past decade, house prices in the South East, especially coastal towns within commutable distance to London, have shown strong growth and have become Britain’s most expensive seaside towns.”

He went on to say that the strongest average house price growth has been in Scottish seaside towns, particularly in Fraserburgh in Aberdeenshire where the average price has risen by 95 per cent from £70,255 in 2006 to £136,889 in 2016.

“The strongest performing coastal towns in terms of growth have been in north of the border in Scotland, where property prices on the Aberdeenshire coastline have been helped by the oil industry more than the sunshine.”

The research also found that 12 of the UK’s seaside towns have an average price of below £100,000, including Port Bannatyne on the Isle of Bute where the average price is £71,550 – almost £600,000 lower than in Sandbanks.