The explosion in house prices in seaside resorts such as Padstow, Rock and
Sandbanks has been one of the great features of the property market of
recent times. A decade or so ago, you could have snapped up a fisherman’s
cottage or a bungalow near the seafront for small change. These days, even
the most unprepossessing shack can command London – or should that be Monte
Carlo? – prices.
But don’t despair. For every resort that has already become hip and funky,
there are a good few more that are still sad and squalid – with rock-bottom
property prices to match. Some of these places, unfortunately, seem doomed
to stay that way. Look carefully, though, and you should be able to find a
handful poised to be the next best thing. But how do you go about it?
The key is regeneration projects. Up and down the coast, local councils are
pumping millions of pounds into giving their towns a makeover. Many are
little more than elaborate public-relations exercises, but some local
authorities have ambitious plans that include new art galleries or cultural
centres, renovated piers or – best of all – a new marina. The daily spend of
boat users within a marina town is extremely high, and, once desirable
quayside flats are built, trendy restaurants and bars follow. So, where do
you start? Here are some places across Britain that could be the next
investment hot spots.
THE SOUTHWEST
Padstow, Budleigh Salterton, Lyme Regis, St Mawes and Fowey have all long
since up and come, so where will the next rising star be? Stephen Bohane,
head of the South West of England Regional Development Agency, tips
Penzance. “It has a thriving community of artists and there is a heritage
initiative to do up old buildings, which is bringing private investors to
the town,” he says. You could still pick up a two-bedroom flat there for
between £120,000 and £130,000, and a three-bedroom house for less than
£200,000. That wouldn’t buy much in Rock.
Those looking to benefit from the marina effect should try Bridport and nearby
West Bay, Dorset. A new £20m harbour, opened two years ago, allows craft to
berth there whatever the level of the tide. Another £1.25m is being spent
over the next three years to give Bridport a general makeover. “This is
widely touted as Notting Hill-on-Sea,” says Simon Neville-Jones, of the
Savills office in Wimborne. “It has a trendy new cinema, a Saturday market,
a posh bakery and a good restaurant, the Riverside. Little wonder that
celebrities such as Martin Clunes and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall have homes
near here.” Prices are still reasonable, though: McKinlays (01308 459525, www.mckinlays.co.uk)
has a three-bedroom terraced former coastguard’s cottage with sea views over
West Bay for £244,950.
SOUTH WALES
The extension of the M4 and dual carriageway as far west as Carmarthen has
made Pembrokeshire incredibly popular with weekenders from Swansea and
Cardiff. Property prices in Tenby, for example, have risen by 41% in the
past three years, new figures from the Halifax reveal. Property is also much
sought-after on the Gower peninsula, which doubles as an upmarket suburb of
Swansea.
Porthcawl, equidistant between Cardiff and Swansea, could be one to watch.
Prices are up more than 60% on three years ago, but actually fell back by 2%
last year, apparently after the scaling-back of plans for a £30m
regeneration scheme – including residential and retail developments and
berths for 400 boats. If Porthcawl, with its fine beaches and good surfing,
finally builds a decent marina, it will become the yachting capital of South
Wales, and property prices there could really take off. If not, it will
remain another dusty seaside town with its glory days long gone. A large
five-bedroom house with four reception rooms near the Blue Flag beach at
Rest Bay, in the Locks Common area of the town, is for sale for £585,000
with Watts & Morgan (01656 644288, www.
wattsandmorgan.co.uk).
THE SOUTH
All along the south coast, planners are trying to revive down-at-heel seaside
communities, often with a natty gimmick. At Boscombe, just along the beach
from Bournemouth, for example, they are building an offshore reef to churn
some life into the millpond waters of the bay and attract “stockbroker
surfers” as part of an £8m regeneration scheme. Flats at the Reef (01202
557766), a new block overlooking the sea, are on sale for between £250,000
and £925,000. The local authorities in Bognor, meanwhile, are trying to
encourage more office jobs in the town, to stimulate growth and free the
place from its fish-and-chips-and-candyfloss image. You can still pick up a
flat on the seafront for less than £200,000. Worthing, Littlehampton and
Shoreham are looking at ways to go upmarket, too.
A recent report by agents Knight Frank, Surging South, tipped Eastbourne as a
property hot spot in the making. The number of residents commuting to London
has increased by 82% in a decade, while there have been improvements to the
marina and retail district. This has yet to translate into price rises,
however. The latest Halifax figures show the market is up just 14% over the
past three years – one of the smallest rises in the country.
Another potential boom area is the Isle of Wight, where the number of homes is
set to increase by a third by 2026. “For best investment potential, look at
East Cowes, as opposed to West Cowes,” advises Chris Husson-Martin, a
partner at Knight Frank in Southampton. The agency (02380 488760, www.knightfrank.co.uk)
is selling two, three- and four-bedroom flats at Yvery Court, in East Cowes,
for between £325,000 and £795,000.
There is plenty of scope for growth on the Kent coast, too. Although prices in
Whitstable have been boosted by the influx of the down-from-London
oyster-eating set, Ramsgate and neighbouring Margate could be poised for
great things – helped by a new high-speed rail link to London, due to start
operating in 2009. If you are in for the long term, then even Dover may be
worth a try.
THE EAST
Property in Norfolk and Suffolk does not come cheap. A small fisherman’s
cottage in ever-popular Southwold would set you back £350,000. So, is there
an “upwardly mobile” place to buy on this coastline? “You won’t find one,”
says Jennie Jones, of Jennie Jones estate agents, with refreshing can-dour.
“You must go inland eight miles to Hales-worth, which is a pleasant little
market town with a station.
Although its prices are shooting up, they are still appreciably lower than on
the coast.” However, Andreas Bonney, director of the eastern office of
buying agency County Homesearch, tips Sheringham, just west of Cromer on the
north Norfolk coast, for its potential. “You can often judge a place by its
cafes,” he says. “In Sheringham, you have a mix – there are still cheap tea
bars, but expensive coffee shops are moving in. The town has a good seafront
and is definitely going upmarket, despite being 25% cheaper than Holt [just
inland].” Brown & Co (01263 822488, www.brown-co.com)
has a brick-and-flint three-bedroom detached cottage on Cromer Road, with
off-street parking and front and rear gardens, for £225,000.
THE NORTH
Anyone assuming that there are cheap houses to be found in the better-known
seaside towns and villages of the Northumberland coastline will be
disappointed. A three-bedroom cottage in Bamburgh, with its dramatic beach
and castle, would set you back £300,000. Move a few miles down the coast to
Seahouses, however, and prices drop sharply.
“Seahouses is a little more fish-and-chips, but it’s lively and friendly, and
you get more house for your money,” says Diane Taylor, of George F White
estate agents. “I recently sold a three-bed semidetached with great views
for £300,000 in Seahouses. In Bamburgh, it would have cost £400,000. It also
pays to check tucked-away villages, where sometimes you’ll find a terraced
cottage for as little as £130,000.” Dobsons (01661 872111), another agent,
has a modern four-bedroom detached house on the outskirts of Seahouses, with
views over the sea and golf course; the guide price is £295,000.
Travelling further south, Scarborough and Whitby, in Yorkshire, and Lytham St
Anne’s, in Lancashire have long been pricey. Morecambe, up the coast, could
be one to watch. Thanks in part to a regeneration scheme, prices in the town
have risen 51% over the past three years, albeit from an extremely low base,
which suggests that there could be scope for further rises.
Anglesey, north Wales, is worth a look, especially in the north of the island,
where prices are 15%-20% lower than in the south. Sheridan Jones (01248
717176, www.sheridanjonesestateagents.co.uk)
has a detached six-bedroom Victorian house, with a one-bedroom holiday
cottage, in an area of outstanding beauty in Cemaes Bay, the most northerly
point in Wales, for £375,000.
