Seaside life has always been popular, both for vacationers and those who want to live there year round. New research shows just how much Britons are willing to pay extra to live by the sea – over £5,000. A survey by Halifax Estate Agents, as reported by the BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk) indicates that the average home in a town along the coast costs about 3%, or £5,298, more than a home inland in the same county.
The most expensive seaside town is Sandbanks in Dorset. There, housing averages £488,761, which is 106% of the overall average for Dorset. Nationwide, the average home price is nearly £200,000. Prices for homes in counties that border the sea average £181,830 while in the seaside towns of the same counties the prices average £187,128.
Nine of the ten most expensive seaside towns are found in the South-West. After Sandbanks, the next most expensive town along the coast is Padstow in Cornwall, which has an average home price of £334,385. Milford-on-Sea in Hampshire comes in at third with an average price of £326,277.
The most economical seaside town was Bridlington in East Yorkshire, which has an average home price of just £139,645. According to the survey, the town with the best quality if life is Christchurch in Dorset.
