The ten best seaside towns

Head to the Yorkshire coast for cheap and cheerful seaside homes.

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside -- preferably with a large portion of fish and chips, and an ice cream chaser. It also helps if the sun is shining.

For city dwellers like myself a trip to the seaside is a rare treat reserved for bank holidays and summer breaks, but many people long to live on the coast -- and who can blame them?

A brisk morning walk on deserted beaches with the wind in your hair and romantic strolls at dusk are just some of the perks of living in a seaside town.

But you have to pay a massive premium for such pleasures, don’t you?

Not always, according to a new study from Halifax, which highlights which seaside resorts are as cheap as chips to live in and which are decidedly more expensive.

Unsurprisingly there is a clear North/South split...

Low cost coastal living

Withernsea in the East Riding of Yorkshire is the most affordable seaside town in England and Wales, according to Halifax, with house prices, on average, three times local annual gross average earnings. It’s also the overall cheapest town with an average house price of just £91,360.

Indeed, the 10 most affordable seaside towns are all in Northern England, as the table below shows:

Most affordable seaside towns based on average earnings

Town	Region	House Price/Earnings Ratio 2009 Q4
Withernsea	Yorkshire and Humberside	3.0
Whitehaven	North	3.7
Maryport	North	3.7
Hartlepool	North	3.8
Morecambe	North West	4.1
Hornsea	Yorkshire and Humberside	4.2
Blyth	North	4.3
Fleetwood	North West	4.3
Bridlington	Yorkshire and Humberside	4.3
South Shields	North	4.5

Super expensive seaside towns

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At the other end of the scale is uber-posh Sandbanks in Dorset with an average house price to earnings ratio of 18.9. And it’s also the most expensive seaside town in England and Wales with an eye-watering average house price of £544,951.

Mumbles in Wales is the least affordable seaside town outside the South East and South West with a house price to earnings ratio of 9.5.

However the 10 least affordable seaside towns are all in the South West.

10 least affordable seaside towns based on average earnings

Town	House Price/Earnings Ratio 2009 Q4
Sandbanks	18.9
Padstow	18.9
Fowey	14.4
Rock	14.0
St Mawes	13.3
Lyme Regis	10.9
Sidmouth	10.8
Budleigh Salterton	10.3
Bude	10.2
Swanage	9.8

Moving out of reach

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House prices in half of all seaside resorts have actually doubled between 2001 and 2009, with the average increase across all seaside towns an impressive 98%. This rise outstripped house prices as a whole in England and Wales which increased by 81%.

The seaside town to have seen the largest price increases is foodie heaven Padstow, home to Rick Stein’s famous Seafood Restaurant among other renowned eateries.

The average house price in the trendy South West seaside town increased by an enormous 211% between 2001 and 2009, from £135,677 to £421,954. The next biggest increases were in Pwllheli in Wales (161%) and Seaham in the North (159%).

Seaside Towns - 10 biggest house price increases 2001- 2009

Seaside Town	Region	Average House Price 2001 (£)	Average House Price 2009 (£)	2001-2009 % change
Padstow	South West	135,677	421,954	211%
Pwllheli	Wales	78,224	204,290	161%
Seaham	North	41,413	107,447	159%
Wadebridge	South West	125,522	314,030	150%
Cleethorpes	Yorkshire and the Humber	49,556	123,903	150%
Robin Hoods Bay	Yorkshire and the Humber	84,999	210,074	147%
Maryport	North	46,211	112,698	144%
Cardigan	Wales	68,721	166,926	143%
Whitehaven	North	51,386	123,063	139%
Caernarfon	Wales	59,358	140,141	136%

Moving to the seaside

If you want to live beside the seaside one thing is clear, the towns in the North of the country are much cheaper, and just as beautiful (as a Northerner I would say that!).

Related how-to guide

Sell your home

If you want to obtain the best possible price when selling your home, then these ideas should help.

See the guide

But wherever you want to live, knowing the average prices of the sort of property you require, and being realistic about how this fits with your own budget, is key.

The more you can save as a deposit the better, as a larger proportion upfront will not only reduce the amount you need to borrow, it will open up many more mortgage deals to you. After all, lenders reserve their cheapest mortgages for those with the biggest deposits, so it pays to save for as long as possible.

If you are unsure about your mortgage options and need professional help an independent mortgage adviser can give you unbiased and expert advice. Plus they will search the whole mortgage market to find you the best deal, unlike a mortgage lender who will only be able to give you information about its own products.

A broker, like those provided by lovemoney.com’s free mortgage service, will do the hard work for you, give you the benefit of their experience and help with the form filling. All in all they make getting a mortgage easy and help you find the right deal for you.

Finally, here’s a round-up of the some of the best current deals on the market right now, including fixed and variable deals for those with small or large deposits:

20 terrific mortgages

LENDER	TYPE OF DEAL	RATE	FEE	MAX LTV
HSBC	2-year discount	2.29%	£999	70%
Yorkshire BS	2-year tracker	2.39% (Base + 1.89%)	£995	75%
First Direct	Term tracker	2.39% (Base + 1.89%)	£499	65%
Market Harborough BS	2-year tracker	2.48% (Base + 1.98%)	£1,250	75%
ING Direct	2-year discount	2.55%	Fee-free	70%
Market Harborough BS	2-year fixed	2.95%	£995	80%
Yorkshire BS	2-year fixed	2.95%	£995	75%
HSBC	2-year fixed	2.99%	£999	70%
Post Office	2-year fixed	3.15%	£999	75%
Britannia BS	3-year tracker	3.19% (Base + 2.69%)	£999	85%
Yorkshire BS	2-year tracker	3.59% (Base + 3.09%)	£995	85%
Post Office	3-year fixed	3.89%	£999	75%
Britannia BS	5-year fixed	3.99%	£999	75%
Post Office	2-year fixed	4.29%	£999	85%
Newcastle BS	2-year tracker	4.60% (Base + 4.10%)	£694	90%
Britannia BS	2-year fixed	4.49%	£999	85%
HSBC	Term tracker	4.49% (Base + 3.99%)	£499	90%
Britannia BS	3-year tracker	4.49% (Base + 3.00%)	£999	90%
Post Office	2-year fixed	5.45%	£999	90%
Britannia BS	2-year fixed	5.49%	£999	90%

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