A Cornish tourism hotspot has been named one of the top ten most expensive places to buy a house near the sea in 2024. 

Rightmove has looked at more than 200 coastal locations in Britain and identified the ten most expensive to buy a property - as well as the ten least expensive. 

Sandbanks in Poole, Dorset was found to be the most expensive, with an average price tag of nearly £1.6 million.

Coming in at number four on the list is Padstow in Cornwall, where the average asking price of a property is £678,058. 

At the other end of the spectrum, people could buy nearly 14 homes in Saltcoats in Ayrshire, Scotland, tor the typical asking price of one property in Sandbanks.

Saltcoats was the least expensive seaside location in the study, with an average property asking price there of £114,365.

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Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s property expert, said: “Whilst the pandemic-driven surge for seaside areas has calmed down and reversed back to more normal levels, areas around Great Britain’s coast continue to be popular with many people.

“Particularly at this time of year, many people consider what a home by the sea and away from the hustle and bustle of a city could look like, or perhaps explore estate agents’ windows while on holiday.”

Top 10 most expensive seaside areas, according to Rightmove, with average asking price:

  1. Sandbanks, Dorset, £1,582,331
  2. Canford Cliffs, Dorset, £1,242,181
  3. Milford On Sea, Hampshire, £751,442
  4. Padstow, Cornwall, £678,058
  5. Lymington, Hampshire, £603,312
  6. Barton On Sea, Hampshire, £562,609
  7. Budleigh Salterton, Devon, £542,005
  8. Lyme Regis, Dorset, £521,932
  9. Sidmouth, Devon, £501,099
  10. Sandgate, Kent, £495,009

Top 10 least expensive areas in Rightmove’s report, with average asking price:

  1. Saltcoats, Ayrshire, £114,365
  2. Easington, County Durham, £122,520
  3. Peterlee, County Durham, £124,593
  4. Ashington, Northumberland, £132,660
  5. Bootle, Merseyside, £133,197
  6. Grimsby, Lincolnshire, £135,951
  7. Girvan, Ayrshire, £139,547
  8. Maryport, Cumbria, £140,437
  9. Workington, Cumbria, £141,765
  10. Hartlepool, County Durham, £146,674

Nathan Emerson, CEO at property professionals’ body Propertymark, said: “Whilst many homeowners will no doubt be happy to see their homes increasing in value in these coastal locations, many locals who aspire to one day live where they have grown up will be unable to do so as prices increase and become further out of reach.”