NEVER mind the Eden Project in St Austell or the Tate gallery in St Ives, Cornwall’s most popular tourist destinations this summer are the estate agents of Truro. “You really notice it when the weather is wet,” says Martyn Rohrs, of Savills, which has recently opened an office in the town. “The people who would normally be on the beach turn up wanting to look at houses.”

The desire for property in Cornwall has pushed up prices faster than anywhere else in the country over the past decade. The average home here now costs just under £200,000, 268 per cent more than it did in 1996 at £53,000, according to the Halifax. At the top of the market, waterside homes command prices comparable with those in London.

But where in the county does the money go? And where can you find value? Although it is easy to drive between the north and south coasts in about an hour at the narrowest point, the two sides of Cornwall have different personalities. Your choice not only says more about you than you might think, but could also make a significant difference to the price you pay.

The north coast on the Atlantic is the noisier, younger, more vibrant side of Cornwall. Home to surfers, the celebrity chef Rick Stein, and Jamie Oliver’s newly opened Fifteen restaurant, the north coast attracts the rich and the famous.

For those with money, the big draw is Rock and Padstow across the Camel estuary, where the Chelsea set and their public school children can bump into Hugh Grant and Jemima Khan, learn to sail, drink at the Mariners pub and pay more than £2 million for a holiday home.

For between £2.25 million and £3 million you can buy one of the three remaining oak-framed houses at the Gull Rock scheme, sold via Knight Frank. The new development of six houses sits just behind the row of Georgian houses on the waterfront, which until recently held the record for the highest price paid for a home outside the South East. This is the hottest of the Cornish hot spots, with prices along the estuary and up towards Polzeath constantly sizzling above the rest of the county.

It is, however, the only red blob on the north coast, according to Savills’ map of property prices. Elsewhere along the Atlantic the average house price remains below the £300,000 mark. Those looking for better value or an investment should consider Newquay instead.

The former fishing village turned capital of the surfing scene has until recently been better known as a good place for a larry night out of binge drinking. This is where Radio One does its Ibiza-style summer road show. But the local authorities have been clamping down on antisocial behaviour, and the opening of Jamie Oliver’s restaurant at Watergate bay near by suggests that the area is ready to go upmarket without losing its sense of fun.

There are at least eight new developments of holiday flats going up around town. Unlike the county’s postwar tourism boom, which brought uninspiring blocks and a rash of cheap bungalows, these small one or two-bedroom “lock-up-and-leave” apartments are aimed squarely at investors and City-boy surfers with money. Later this year Knight Frank will be launching a development of “surf pods” — crash pads for surfers with prices starting at £99,950.

Even unique properties are better value compared with Rock or Padstow. The house on Towan Rock above the beach is on the market with Savills. Lord and Lady Long, who converted the 1920s tea-room into a three-bedroom home five years ago, are looking for offers above £750,000.

Perched on its own little island and linked to Newquay only by a bridge suspended 75ft (23m) above the beach, you have the best of both worlds. The bars and restaurants are a short walk away, but you have all the privacy of a desert island. The price has been set deliberately low to instigate competitive bidding, but property values in the town seem likely to rise.

“Newquay is becoming very chic,” says Lady Long. “You can really notice the difference. There are lots of new eateries opening up. We are almost as smart as Rock or Padstow.”

Some buyers are so confident about the future of the local market that they will pay £500,000 for a well-located bungalow, only to replace it with something much more impressive. Homes with cutting-edge design and state-of-the-art interiors are springing up all over the county.

Savills is selling a striking contemporary house just west of Newquay in Bolingey, near Perranporth beach, for £1 million.

For other one-off properties, look along the creeks and estuaries of the south coast and follow the yachties. Property prices in the Helford estuary, Falmouth, St Mawes, and further north in Fowey are quietly on the boil, despite the lack of celebrity visitors or trendy nightclubs.

“The south coast is more refined,” says Jonathan Cunliffe, of Savills. “Where you have boating, you have money, which you don’t necessarily have with surfers. People have a fascination with water. Values will hold if you buy near the water.”

Compared with the north coast, where every other big hotel is being spruced up into holiday flats, there are very few developments. Much of the land is National Trust or belongs to the Duchy of Cornwall, so opportunities are limited. Houses seldom come on the market, and a lot are still sold via word of mouth. In small villages the pub landlord can be more useful than an estate agent.

Those in the know call it Cornwall’s best kept secret, and like to keep it that way. The plea from one member of the St Mawes Sailing Club sums it up: “For goodness sake, don’t tell people to come here. Tell everybody to go to the north coast instead.”

Knight Frank: 01392 848844. Savills: 01872 243200.

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