Southwold, Sandbanks and Saltburn lead a decade of coastal holiday home price gains

Data gathered from estate agents who use Alto software has singled out the ten UK seaside spots offering the strongest holiday home investment prospects.

Southwold, the picturesque Suffolk town, headed the table after values there rose 94% over a decade, from £231,236 to £448,106, comfortably outperforming the market at large.

In second place, following a 93% jump from £664,655 to £1,282,565, was Sandbanks in Dorset, the enclave famed as a playground for millionaires.

Third place went to Saltburn-by-the-Sea in North Yorkshire, where prices rose 75% from £129,363 to £227,022.

The study was carried out by Alto, whose property management software links it to more than 6,000 estate agents across the UK.

Taking every popular coastal holiday home hotspot in Britain as its starting list, Alto then isolated the ten that had seen the fastest price growth over the last decade.

Rental values in all ten have risen by broadly similar margins.

The full methodology, along with the figures behind the rankings, is published on the Alto website.

Commenting on the findings, Riccardo Iannucci-Dawson, chief executive of Alto, said: “Seaside holiday homes can still be a great investment if you pick the right place.

“The best reason to buy a seaside home is to have a wonderful place where you can relax with your loved ones and earn good rental returns when you are not there.

“They can be a fantastic investment if you look at the data carefully and pinpoint where prices and rental yields have grown most over the last decade.

“Southwold narrowly beat the more famous Sandbanks because its percentage rise was greater but all the locations in the top ten would make good investments and will provide a good return in the long-term.

“Prices shot up for seaside homes during Covid as people looked to escape cities for a simpler life.

“There was a correction after that and holiday home taxes in the form of punitive second home council tax charges in some popular areas have also affected the market.

“But global warming is making many parts of Europe too hot in the summer and British coastal resorts are an increasingly attractive option for many holidaymakers.

“Alto data allows agents to analyse long-term sales and rental data, going back decades, to highlight the very best holiday home investment opportunities.”

Described as the UK’s number one AI CRM software for letting and estate agents, Alto unites sales, lettings, client accounting and property management on a single platform.

The system is relied on by around 35% of UK estate agents, who on average save 10 hours a week on paperwork.