Seaside towns in Merseyside and Wales have been named as the coastal hotspots where house prices are rising the fastest, outpacing the wider UK market, new analysis shows.
Bootle in Merseyside tops the list with average asking prices up 11% compared with last year, property website Rightmove found.
Prices in the seaside town on the outskirts of Liverpool nonetheless remain well below the national average at £141,680.
Crosby, another Merseyside hotspot, was identified as the second fastest-growing with house prices up by 9% year-on-year to fetch an average of £330,900.
Several towns in Wales have seen some of the biggest jumps in house prices of UK seaside locations, including Llantwit Major in South Glamorgan, up by 9%, and Llanelli, in Carmarthenshire, up by 7%.
House prices in Penarth, a Welsh town near to the capital Cardiff, were up by 8% to an average of £433,091 – the highest of the top 10 fastest-growing spots and the only one to sit above the national average.
The UK average price of a property coming to the market in May was £378,304, according to Rightmove.
Average asking prices are currently 0.3% lower in Britain compared with last year, showing how some seaside locations are defying the dip and outpacing the nationwide market.
Despite this, Rightmove said coastal living remains relatively affordable compared with other parts of the country.
Of the roughly 100 seaside areas analysed, where at least 20 new homes were coming to the market, around 80% had an average asking price below the national figure.
Sandbanks in Poole remains Britain’s most expensive seaside hotspot with an average price tag of £1.12 million for a home.
Colleen Babcock, Rightmove’s property expert, said: “The fastest-growing seaside markets this year show that demand for coastal homes remains resilient, even as overall price growth across the UK stays more modest.
“While some locations are seeing strong price increases, there are still many areas where living by the sea is more affordable, giving buyers a wider range of options depending on their budget.
“We’re also seeing that homes priced realistically continue to attract interest, particularly in locations where price growth is being supported by buyer demand.”
Here are the 10 seaside locations with the highest year-on-year house price growth, according to Rightmove, and the average asking price:
1. Bootle, Merseyside, up 11% to £141,680
2. Crosby, Merseyside, up 9% to £330,900
3. Penarth, South Glamorgan, Wales, up 8% to £433,081
4. Llantwit Major, South Glamorgan, Wales, up 8% to £340,033
5. Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Wales, up 7% to £201,570
6. Wallasey, Merseyside, up 7% to £200,753
7. Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales, up 7% to £220,622
8. Porthcawl, South Glamorgan, Wales, up 6% to £359,412
9. Barrow-In-Furness, Cumbria, up 6% to £185,169
10. Helensburgh, Dunbartonshire, Scotland, up 6% to £247,953