When the Romans invaded in 43AD, they chose Ramsgate in Kent as the first place to set foot on English soil. Today, it is experiencing an invasion of a different kind: Londoners keen to turn their backs on the hustle and bustle of the capital and enjoy the peace and tranquillity of this royal harbour town.

Ramsgate, granted royal status by party-loving George IV in 1821 after a particularly fun visit there, is certainly on the up. Haart estate agency says property prices have risen 73% in the past five years, the largest increase of all the main seaside towns in the southeast. Yet, despite this, the average price of a home in Ramsgate is just £151,400, against £207,400 for the region as a whole.

Lawrence Mayne, manager of the Ramsgate branch of estate agency Spicer McColl, says the town is benefiting from two trends. First, buyers are moving to the town from London and traditional hot spots further along the south coast, such as Brighton, where prices have rocketed. Many are professionals with young families, who are snapping up affordable period properties, and are attracted by the grammar schools — Clarendon House Grammar School, a girls’ institution, is no 234 in this year’s Sunday Times Parent Power league tables.

Richard Donnell, director of research at Hometrack, says this “trading out effect” is increasingly important. “People are moving out of their nice expensive houses in London and getting lots more for their money in Ramsgate,” he says. “Many of the buyers are professionals who can work from home and commute up to London once every couple of weeks for meetings. This influx of new demand will keep going until real value starts to disappear.”

The second trend is the increasing popularity of Ramsgate as a second-home destination. “The easy journey out from the capital compared to those for coastal towns in the southwest has encouraged Londoners to choose Ramsgate as their preferred holiday-home location for weekends and the summer months,” Mayne says. From 2009, Ramsgate will be hooked up to the high-speed rail link between Ebbsfleet and Stratford, so the rail journey to London will take only an hour, putting it easily within daily commuting distance.

Vivien Lyle, 39, and Nic Coward, 40, live in Victoria Park, east London, but wanted somewhere by the sea they could enjoy at weekends with their children, Innes, 6, and Lachlan, 4. They bought a six-bed detached house in Marlborough Road, next to popular Vale Square, for £360,000 in July.

“We wanted somewhere that was quick and easy to get to, and Ramsgate is only an hour and 15 minutes door-to-door on the motorway,” says Lyle, a full-time mother. “The house was built in the 1850s and has nice, tall ceilings, lovely features and a perfect-sized garden. As well as six bedrooms, there are three reception rooms and two kitchens.

“I don’t think it’s a steal, but we were happy to pay that money, and if we had looked anywhere else in the southeast we wouldn’t have found such good value. It’s very friendly, and incredible how many people seem to be buying in the town.”

A mix of old-fashioned seaside town, working port and modern, trendy cafe culture, Ramsgate is an agreeable location. In the picturesque marina, fishermen’s trawlers rest next to luxury pleasure boats. The waterfront is a jumble of pretty, pastel-painted Victorian and Regency terraces and lively bars and restaurants. Around the harbour, a string of red-brick arches is home to shipbrokers and chandlers.

On a recent wet, windy morning, the clean, sandy beach was deserted but for dozens of squawking seagulls. Away from the waterfront there is a maze of narrow streets with a bustling street market. It is a town with character.

“When I started working here 18 years ago, Ramsgate wasn’t a place you’d even want to go to for a walk,” says Vince Mulcare, senior branch manager at Your Move estate agency.

“But there has been such an injection of cash from London buyers that local clients have been encouraged to bring their properties up to the same level. Why would someone live in smog in suburbia when they could live next to the sea with half the mortgage?” The most popular properties are those with views overlooking the harbour, homes on West Cliff and those around Vale and Spencer Squares. For the average price of £150,000, you can pick up a two-bedroom flat with a balcony and sea views on Victoria Parade, but similar one-bed flats can be snapped up for as little as £125,000. At the top end, a five-bedroom Victorian villa on West Cliff is on the market for £350,000.

“While growth in many of the southeastern seaside towns is likely to settle down over the next year, prices in Ramsgate will carry on increasing alongside the regeneration that has brought a vibrant culture to the town,” says Mayne. “It’s a great time to buy.”

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