Estate agent figures from Alto software have singled out the ten UK locations where buying a seaside holiday home looks most compelling as an investment.
Heading the rankings is picturesque Southwold in Suffolk, where property values have climbed 94% over ten years, from £231,236 to £448,106, far outperforming the wider market.
In second place, with values surging 93% from £664,655 to £1,282,565, came Sandbanks in Dorset, the so-called millionaires’ playground.
Saltburn-by-the-Sea in North Yorkshire came in third, with prices there rising by 75%, from £129,363 to £227,022.
The research comes from Alto, whose property management platform connects with more than 6,000 estate agents across the UK.
To identify the ten locations where values rose fastest over the last ten years, Alto began with a shortlist taking in all of the UK’s favourite coastal holiday home hotspots.
In the leading ten locations, rental values have increased to a similar degree.
Full details of the data and the methodology behind the rankings are published on the Alto website.
Speaking about the findings, Riccardo Iannucci-Dawson, chief executive of Alto, said: “Seaside holiday homes can still be a great investment if you pick the right place.
“The best reason to buy a seaside home is to have a wonderful place where you can relax with your loved ones and earn good rental returns when you are not there.
“They can be a fantastic investment if you look at the data carefully and pinpoint where prices and rental yields have grown most over the last decade.
“Southwold narrowly beat the more famous Sandbanks because its percentage rise was greater but all the locations in the top ten would make good investments and will provide a good return in the long-term.
“Prices shot up for seaside homes during Covid as people looked to escape cities for a simpler life.
“There was a correction after that and holiday home taxes in the form of punitive second home council tax charges in some popular areas have also affected the market.
“But global warming is making many parts of Europe too hot in the summer and British coastal resorts are an increasingly attractive option for many holidaymakers.
“Alto data allows agents to analyse long-term sales and rental data, going back decades, to highlight the very best holiday home investment opportunities.”
Created for estate agents and letting agents, Alto ranks number one in the UK for AI CRM software, uniting property management, client accounting, sales and lettings on a single platform.
Around 35% of the UK’s estate agents use the system, with users saving an average of 10 hours a week on paperwork.
UK’s top performing seaside holiday locations over the last decade
- Southwold, Suffolk: up 94% from £231,236 in 2016 to £448,106 in 2026
- Sandbanks, Dorset: up 93% from £664,655 to £1,282,565
- Saltburn-by-the-Sea, North Yorkshire: up 75% from £129,363 to £227,022
- Croyde, Devon: up 68% from £439,975 to £740,747
- West Wittering, West Sussex: up 63% from £598,788 to £977,282
- Padstow, Cornwall: up 60% from £443,396 to £711,458
- Falmouth, Cornwall: up 59% from £226,217 to £360,332
- Burnham Market, Norfolk: up 56% from £457,050 to £715,452
- Margate, Kent: up 54% from £202,276 to £312,195
- Salcombe, Devon: up 53% from £539,950 to £828,630
