Brits are renowned for their long-held love affair with everything associated with beach holidays and homes by the sea. With this in mind, we seek out a selection of the finest properties in the UK’s prime coastal locations.
Things are looking exceptionally good for the quality of the UK’s beaches. This year, environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy presented 190 awards to England’s very best beaches, including 65 international Blue Flags and 125 Seaside Awards (eight more than last year), with 42 beaches achieving both awards.
Bournemouth and Poole, both in Dorset, can now boast a combined total of 18 Keep Britain Tidy accolades and join the country’s very best beaches, from popular holiday locations to quiet, more hidden-away spots. What unites them all is knowing that they are clean, safe and meet the highest environmental standards, as well as the tough international bathing water quality standards.
With more than 30,000 freshwater lochs and a huge coastline of 11,800kms (roughly 60 per cent of the entire UK coast) water based locations and beaches are key assets for Scotland.
Therefore, Scotland’s Beach Award is the benchmark for quality, celebrating clean, well managed and sustainable beaches. Awarded beaches demonstrate excellent beach management and environmental best practice, and the maintenance of high standards. More than ever have achieved award-winning status this year, ranging from rural beaches to busy recreational beaches.
An Indian summer
According to forecasts, the UK’s warm weather is set to extend well into September, meaning the British aspiration to live in a home by the sea is unlikely to wane. Indeed, national estate agent, Jackson-Stops, reports that homes directly on the seafront attract a 33% price premium. The company analysed 30 prime seaside locations, ranging from super-prime hotspots to traditional holiday resorts. It found that all seafront homes were, on average, a third more expensive than comparable properties in the wider town.
Aldeburgh in Suffolk offers seafront homes with the highest premium compared to other local properties at 89% on average, making seafront homes here the most sought-after of any location analysed. Padstow in Cornwall (70%) and Torquay in Devon (69%) take the second and third spots. It’s not just the prime hotspots where seafront homes attract a premium. Traditional seaside resorts also experience this trend. In Bournemouth seafront homes are 67% more expensive than other properties in the town; the Southend-on-Sea premium is 36% and Blackpool’s is 34%.
Nick Leeming, chairman at Jackson-Stops, comments, “Owning a sea-front home with uninterrupted waterside views or access to the beach has long been an aspiration for the British buyer. Whether it is someone’s full-time residence or a holiday home to enjoy during the summer months it is clear buyers are willing to go the extra mile to secure their dream home by the sea. From Aldeburgh in Suffolk to Blackpool in Lancashire, buyers are paying on average 33% more for the privilege of living on the front row, compared to how much they would pay for a property just one street further back.
“The lifestyle benefits associated with living by the seaside means that waterside homes will often generate a strong price premium, regardless of their distance from the beach. Sailing, surfing, swimming, and taking in the fresh sea air, are all favourite British pastimes for families and downsizers alike. Yet, there is something very special about being able to look out of your kitchen window or step outside your front door and be immediately greeted by sandy beaches and the rippling of the tide.”
