Which seaside town boasts the highest house price growth?

Margate has been named as the seaside town with the largest property value growth in the past year.

According to a new study by Zoopla, the average price of a property in the Kent seaside town has risen 12.5% in the past year to £202,276. This is almost 10% more than the average British home, which has risen in value by 2.62% over the past 12 months.

Other seaside towns on the South coast in the top 10 include Walton-on-the-Naze (10.04%), Felixstowe (9.59%), Ramsgate (7.17%), Hastings (6.96%), Hayling Island, near Portsmouth (6.83%) and Southend-on-Sea, (6.81%).

It is a different story on the South West coast though. Two of Devon’s most popular holiday hotspots, Ilfracombe (-2.21%) and Woolacombe (-2.2%) feature in the bottom 10 alongside Cornwall’s Looe (-2.19%) and Perranporth (-1.98%) due to their falling average property values.

Salcombe in Devon boasts the priciest sea views, with average property prices at £598,230. Suffolk’s areas of outstanding natural beauty also comes at a high cost, with average property prices in Aldeburgh and Southwold £490,182 and £434,618 respectively.

Saltcoats in Scotland offers the lowest seaside property values in the UK (£109,109), while Kilchattan Bay (£130,846) comes in fifth place and Girvan (£138,094) in eighth. Wales’ Rhyl (£134,577) comes sixth and Fairbourne takes the tenth spot (£141,576).

Lawrence Hall, spokesperson for Zoopl, said: “It is interesting to see that Margate is the best performing coastal location, benefitting from the highest price rises in the past year.

“This is likely a result of the large amounts of regeneration funding the town has received in the past decade – in particular the Turner Gallery opening in 2011 and its Dreamland theme park re-opening last year. If you’re considering investing in a beach front property, you should consider those resorts receiving government investment – it does have a positive impact on property values.”