Ten coastal spots across the UK stand out as the strongest choices for anyone buying a seaside holiday home as an investment, according to estate agency figures gathered by Alto software.
Top of the table came Southwold, the picturesque Suffolk town, where property values rose 94% in the last ten years, from £231,236 to £448,106, comfortably outstripping the broader market.
In second place was Sandbanks in Dorset, the playground of millionaires, where a 93% surge took prices from £664,655 to £1,282,565.
Saltburn-by-the-Sea, North Yorkshire, took third spot after prices there grew by 75%, moving from £129,363 to £227,022.
The figures were compiled by Alto, a provider of property management software whose system connects to more than 6,000 estate agents across the country.
It began with a roster of every coastal holiday home hotspot popular with UK buyers, then pinpointed the ten where prices had grown fastest during the last ten years.
Rental values in all ten locations have risen by broadly similar margins.
The complete data, together with an explanation of the methodology behind the rankings, is 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.”
Alto, the number one AI CRM software in the UK, is designed for estate and letting agents and brings sales, lettings, property management and client accounting together on a single platform.
Roughly 35% of UK estate agents rely on the system, with its users saving an average of 10 hours each 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
