Property experts say the prime minister may have underestimated the value of Lord Alli’s London penthouse given its low price compared with similar rentals.

By Emanuele Midolo

Sir Keir Starmer may have underestimated the value of the luxury London penthouse he was given use of by Lord Alli before the election, property experts suggested, receiving “mates’ rates” for his stay.

Starmer stayed at the 5,000 sq ft penthouse in Covent Garden for a month and a half during the general election campaign, and declared the value of the donation to be £20,400, amounting to £450 a day or £13,500 a month.

However, similar properties rented out for short periods in the area have been advertised for more than twice the amount recently, with one Covent Garden apartment offered for £30,000 a month. It was claimed on Friday night that the penthouse next to Alli’s commands rents of £1,800 a day.

The findings follow mounting questions about freebies received by the new Labour government after it emerged that the prime minister and his wife accepted almost £19,000 in donations from Alli for clothes and glasses this year.

“It sounds like mates’ rates to me,” Camilla Dell, founder of the London property agency Black Brick, said. “Based on comparable luxury rentals in the area, it’s very low. And that property is quite unique, quite special — you can’t really compare it with something else. You need to look further afield to find something of that quality.”

Mark Turnstall, founder of Turnstall Property, a boutique agency that specialises in ultra-luxury rentals in central London, said that lettings shorter than 90 days commanded a hefty premium over long lettings.

Mark Turnstall, founder of Turnstall Property, a boutique agency that specialises in ultra-luxury rentals in central London, said that lettings shorter than 90 days commanded a hefty premium over long lettings.

Long-term lets in the area are “cheaper”: a three-bedroom flat in Centre Point on Tottenham Court Road went for £16,250 a month — but still higher than the £13,500 a month claimed by Starmer.

A three-bedroom flat below penthouse level on Portugal Street, near Holborn, is on offer for £19,500 a month with Savills for a minimum of a year’s lease.

Another estate agent specialising in high-end property, who asked not to be named, said there was plenty of “misinformation” and “misleading data” about prices in the luxury sector, and questioned the valuation of Starmer’s stay.

Luxury rental prices in London are on the up, the estate agents said, as high net-worth individuals opt to rent rather than buy to avoid committing to the UK amid proposed changes to the non-domiciled tax status.

Starmer claimed he took up the offer to allow his son to study peacefully for his GCSEs.

“I wasn’t going to let my son fail or not do well in his GCSEs because of journalists outside the front door,” Starmer told Sky News. “We also, as you know, had protesters outside the front door.”

He added that “any parent would have made the same decision”.

A spokesman for Starmer said the donation was declared on time and as required by parliamentary rules.

Alli has been contacted for comment.

Fearing a capital gains tax increase in the October budget, some holiday let owners are rushing to offload their properties

By David Byers

Tilly Bagshawe, 51, and her husband Robin Nydes, 67, are in a race against time to complete the sale of their £2.85 million “dream” Cotswolds second home.

Bagshawe, a bestselling author, and Nydes, an American businessman, bought the chocolate-box stone house on Lower Slaughter’s village green 12 years ago. They have rented it out as a holiday let in weeks when they are not using it themselves, earning £160,000 in the most recent tax year.

Now, with three of their four children aged 17 and over, they have decided to sell the six-bedroom house, as they increasingly split their time between homes in London and Los Angeles. However, the decision has also been given added urgency due to fears that the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, plans to increase capital gains tax (CGT) in the budget on October 30.

CGT is the levy on the profit made from the sale of assets, including a property which is not your main home. Higher and additional-rate taxpayers pay 24 per cent CGT on the sale of property, but there is speculation that Reeves plans to raise it in line with income tax at 40 to 45 per cent.

“Knowing that Labour was coming in, and there were going to be tax changes and they were going to be negative — particularly with capital gains tax — [and] that there was always likely to be a worsening environment. That probably hastened the decision,” says Bagshawe, whose sister is the former Conservative MP and author Louise Mensch. “Of course it would be nice to sell before your capital gains tax almost doubles.”

Any CGT rise on the scale that has been rumoured will hit Bagshawe and Nydes hard, as they think they will make a profit of about £500,000 on their home, Brook House, which they have put on the market for £2.85 million. At the current rate of 24 per cent, they could face a tax bill of £118,560 when selling it, assuming they have their full capital gains annual allowance and no capital losses. But at 45 per cent, it would be £222,300 — £103,740 more, according to the accountancy firm Blick Rothenberg.

There has been a surge in larger properties being put up for sale in holiday hotspots, according to the property website Rightmove, as sellers try to offload them before any rise. Bagshawe, perhaps unsurprisingly, believes holiday home owners are being used as a convenient cash cow by the government. “I think in general, what they’re trying to do to limit short-term rentals and holiday lets is really bad for our area and for lots of rural areas,” she says.

“In our part of the Cotswolds, for example, it’s a lot of people struggling in the agricultural sector who are trying to rent out their barns or outbuildings. Or people who worked all their lives to afford the dream of a holiday cottage, but who need it to be able to produce a viable income. I think those people are going to be very angry with some of these changes, which will have a knock-on effect on the local economy.”

The great holiday let tax clampdown

There will be plenty of rural residents playing the tiniest of violins. Many have complained loudly that the mass buy-up of homes in rural areas during the pandemic by second home-owners, which was turbocharged by former prime minister Rishi Sunak’s stamp duty holiday, has caused a housing crisis.

In his last budget, the former chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, responded to these protests by announcing that owners of furnished holiday lets will, from next April, no longer get full tax relief on mortgage interest payments, bringing them in line with buy-to-let landlords.

Meanwhile, dozens of local authorities in prime holiday locations like Dorset, Cornwall and the Lake District have been allowed to charge double council tax on second homes, which will also take effect from April next year.

Many agents say the number of holiday lets being put on the market in recent weeks far outstrips demand. Rupert Stephenson from the estate agency Black Brick says: “Some holiday homes that have been in the same family for generations are now coming up for sale as people not only worry about CGT but also have been affected by the change in holiday let tax relief and landlord relief that was imposed by the last government.” He says this includes “a number of prime estates, farms, and coastal properties”, particularly around Exeter and Salcombe in Devon, ranging between £4 million and £10 million.

Helen Whitfield from Butler Sherborn, a Cotswold estate agency which is selling Bagshawe’s house, agrees that fear over CGT is a major factor. “I have been invited to a couple of pitches next week specifically due to CGT planning,” she says.

Anna Sharp, from the Cornwall branch of Black Brick, points out that international travel has picked up since the pandemic, with fewer Brits holidaying at home and bookings “down by an average of 37 per cent this year across Cornwall”. This, combined with soaring mortgage rates, has hit investors in the pocket. In hotspots such as Port Isaac in Cornwall, for example, there are 52 properties on the market with only ten under offer. “For many, it is no longer a viable business transaction, with the yields simply not adding up,” Sharp says.

One investor, who wished to remain anonymous, has recently chosen to sell their holiday home on Mersea Island in Essex, having been hit by a combination of high maintenance and ground rent by her freeholder, and the prospect of CGT changes. “I didn’t want to take any chances ahead of October’s budget,” she says.

A break for first-time buyers

Data from the estate agency Hamptons shows that these clampdowns may already be changing the market in many rural areas, as homes sold by second home-owners are increasingly being snapped up by first-time buyers. The percentage of first-time buyers purchasing properties that had been holiday homes has risen consistently since 2021. In January this year it overtook that of second home-owners for the first time, at 29 per cent to 22 per cent, its highest level ever.

David Fell from Hamptons says that, with the exception of a bump during Covid, this is part of a continuing trend ever since the decision by the former chancellor George Osborne to raise stamp duty by three percentage points for second home-owners and landlords in 2016. “It has definitely pushed more of the homes which are sold into the hands of owner-occupiers — exactly as it was intended to,” Fell says.

The government says it plans further measures to regulate the short-term lettings sector, including an official registration scheme that will show the impact on local communities. Intriguingly, this is supported by Airbnb and the rental site Sykes Cottages, which say it will show that the harm being done to local housing is being exaggerated. Airbnb says, for example, that homes listed for 90 nights or more per year account for just 1.1 per cent of Cornwall’s total housing stock.

Is the party over?

Holiday-let owners will be weighing up whether they can still make it pay. The industry’s supporters claim that, despite the changes, you can make a profit — as long as you pick your area carefully.

The average income made by owners in England in July and August this year was £7,119, up from £6,579 in 2023, according to Sykes Cottages. But this excludes all taxes.

However, it is increasingly important to choose the right location to avoid the saturation in some overheated hotspots. The fastest growing investment area this summer was the artistic and surfing haven of Praa Sands on the south coast of Cornwall, where the average investor made £14,234 in July and August this year.

Second was Nefyn on the northwest Wales coast, where income was up from £7,236 to £9,132, following publicity about Porth Iago beach.

By contrast, more well-known investment areas are proving less profitable. In St Austell, for example, average income has only risen from £6,885 to £7,169. And in Llanberis, north Wales, it is negligible.

Claire Gibson, 54, is one of those who has benefited from the boom at Praa Sands, having earned 30 per cent more this summer than she did last year in bookings for her five-bedroom house. She and her husband Robert Gibson have rented out the house, which has a hot tub and sauna, since she had to relocate to Exeter for work in 2021. “It has worked for us and it continues to do so,” she says.

Gibson will not be affected by Cornwall council’s decision to raise council tax by 100 per cent next April for holiday home-owners. She has registered as a small business and is paying business rates instead, which all investors in England can do if they let properties for a minimum of 70 days a year having made them available for 140. In fact, many properties (although not Claire’s) are eligible for business rates relief too because they have a rateable value — the estimated annual rental value of a property — of less than £12,000.

Indeed, government data shows the number of short-term holiday lets registered for business rates has skyrocketed, from about 8,800 in 2017 to more than 89,000 in 2023 and now accounts for about 10 per cent of all second homes in England.

Gibson says their neighbours have been supportive of her business and that she wants to retire to the house. “As long as I can cover the costs so that we can continue to have the house ready for us when we can come back, that’s our priority,” she says.

One thing is for sure. For those considering selling, but who haven’t yet made up their minds, anxious eyes will be on Reeves’s budget briefcase on October 30.

What about Scotland and Wales?

Scotland has been hit by a blizzard of new rules, including the need for landlords to get a licence from their local council that can cost hundreds of pounds — failure to do so could lead to a £2,500 fine and a banning order. Councils also have the power to convert their region into a short-term let “control area” if there is too much supply, meaning new holiday lets need planning permission to operate.

Wales also tightened its rules in 2022. Owners must now let their properties for at least 182 days a year and make them available to rent for 252 (the threshold in England is 70 and 140), and those who fail to do so will revert to paying council tax as an “empty second home” — a special rate on which councils have the right to charge 300 per cent council tax.

By Melissa York

Buyers are being misled by false information on property portals. Here’s what to look out for — and what you can do if the particulars are not particular enough.

For most people looking to buy or rent a new home, the journey starts on a property portal. Despite estate agents’ hyperbole, though, too many would-be buyers discover that vital details are often missing from the sales listing leading to frustration, wasted time and lost money.

“My partner and I found it incredibly frustrating how opaque many listings were with lots of missing or incorrect information,” says Marianna Hunt, 29, who started house-hunting last year. “Some had photos of garages and gardens but they turned out not to come with either.

“Trying to find info about EWS1 [external wall cladding] forms was like getting blood out of a stone. We saw properties with service charges listed that were completely different to what the vendor later told us. There’s no penalty for estate agents who consistently list wrong or incomplete information, so there’s no incentive for things to improve.”

Marianna Hunt was frustrated by the lack of information on property listings online.

Incomplete listings can lead inexperienced buyers to make a poor investment on what is usually the biggest purchase of their life because they don’t know what information they should be asking for. “It’s often what’s missing from the listing that’s just as important as what’s included,” Charlie Warner, a partner at the buying agency Heaton and Partners, says.

The average visitor to the property portal Zoopla spends only two minutes and 57 seconds looking at a listing and, its data shows, “only a small proportion“ (less than 10 per cent) of visitors bother to look at maps, floorplans and images before booking a viewing. Even when buyers are more discerning, they are often met with incomplete information.

In some cases, the properties listed online aren’t even for sale. In January 2021, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld a complaint about a listing on manchestersalerent.co.uk and overstreet.co.uk that advertised a “four-bedroom detached house for sale in Rackenford” described as “stunning’” with a virtual tour and a button directing buyers to book a viewing. The advertising watchdog ordered that the listing should be taken down because it understood that the property had not been on sale since 2017.

Another buyer, who wishes to remain anonymous, says he asked to view two properties he saw online listed with the estate agency Dexters only to be told they were under offer. “It is done purely to get more applicants to call them and offer other properties,” he says. Dexters declined to comment.

It has been an offence to leave out important information on property listings since 2008, but in reality there is a lack of consistency on property portals and estate agency websites on which details are included.

In 2022 National Trading Standards introduced guidance on what should be in a property listing and it gave estate agents a year to comply. The consumer watchdog mandated that all listings should include council tax band or rate; the price (“offers invited” or “price on application” are no longer allowed); reservation fees for new-builds; and tenure information (freehold or leasehold).

Paula Higgins, from the HomeOwners Alliance, a consumer rights organisation, says: “Many estate agents don’t even realise that these obligations exist. That said, anyone can rock up and be an estate agent with no qualifications or prior training.”

Camilla Dell, the founder of the London buying agency Black Brick, is “always amazed by how many properties I see advertised that don’t have basic information such as the service charge, ground rent, lease length”, all of which can have a dramatic impact on the value of a property and whether the buyer can get a mortgage for it.

Dell advises buyers to seek independent legal advice for the cost of a lease extension and never take the seller or estate agent’s word for it. She says: “We’ve seen cases where a buyer is told the extension will cost a certain amount and then finds out it’s a lot more expensive.”

In May 2021 the ASA ruled that an advertisement for shared ownership was misleading, in part because it did not include information about the “significant” cost of extending a lease, which can run into tens of thousands of pounds. The percentage of the share of the property being bought and the rent must also be displayed under new Trading Standards rules.

The National Leasehold Campaign, which campaigns to abolish leasehold, thinks a copy of the Land Registry title document should accompany online listings because it’s “the only way to ensure accurate and complete information is provided by agents”.

In November 2023 Trading Standards added to its guidance for estate agents so that the type of property (house/flat/bungalow) is included alongside building materials used, the number of rooms, parking, and information about utilities including broadband type/speed and mobile phone coverage.

This is particularly important for rural property listings. A “pet hate” for Warner is when the advertisement doesn’t make it clear that the property is a wing or part of a bigger house. “One of the other things common with selling agents that don’t regularly work with country properties is not including acreage,” he says. “They can talk about paddocks but don’t always realise how important the total size of land is to some buyers.”

Size — in square feet or metres — is often left out on listings too. This isn’t just vital for buyers wanting more house for their money. If the property doesn’t meet certain space requirements, it could be impossible to buy with a mortgage or let to private tenants. For rental properties fees applicable such as the deposit should be stated close to the asking rent.

The latest guidance also means that sales listings should declare any flood risks, restrictive covenants on the property or land, building safety such as unsafe cladding, and rights and easements such as public rights of way and shared driveways.

While most buyers would expect prices, locations and features to be accurate, the ASA expects images for new-builds, even computer-generated ones, to accurately reflect the quality of finish of the property being advertised. Images that show a higher quality finish than the buyer can expect should have a qualifying caption such as “image includes optional upgrades at additional cost”.

However, listings are improving. On the Market recently became the first big property portal to allow buyers to search for accessibility, so wheelchair users and other people with mobility needs can find homes with wide doorways, ramped access, wet rooms and other useful adaptations. It also has a “greener choice” filter that shows only properties with an EPC (energy performance certificate) rating of A or B, and eco-features such as solar panels or rainwater harvesting.

Last week Zoopla added a tenure filter to make it easier for buyers to search for freehold, leasehold or share of freehold properties. It also added a search based on the number of bathrooms. To determine whether a property is overpriced, Zoopla also has a listing history on the same page as the sales listing that displays how long the property has been on the market and any asking price reductions. Property Log, a free Google Chrome browser extension, shows price reductions on Rightmove.

Rich Hayes, the chief operating officer at Zoopla, says: “There are also plenty of other handy features Zoopla users can use to maximise their property search experience and ensure they’re served properties that are curated to their needs, be it filtering by leasehold or freehold or using ‘market stats’ on listings to get a sense of what similar properties in the area have sold for.”

By Melissa York

Listed homes are worth 50 per cent more on average than unlisted ones — but buyers should be aware of the extra costs involved and hidden dangers.

Britain has no shortage of historic or architecturally amazing homes, but properties with a heritage listing are worth 50 per cent more than unlisted ones.

Researchers at the quick-sale company Upstix found that the average value of a listed property in England and Wales is £443,692, which is £158,057 more than properties without legal protections.

Historically or architecturally important properties are granted listed status by the government and then sorted into three categories: grade I for the most important buildings, then grade II* and grade II. There are more than 400,000 listed building entries in England and more than 30,000 in Wales.

This rarity value pushes up the price. “Not every house is deemed important enough to be listed,” says Lindsay Cuthill, co-founder of the country estate agency Blue Book. “As a nation enamoured with history and the charm of heritage homes, vendors should capitalise on this fascination.”

In London the listed-property premium is 80 per cent — the highest of any region — followed by a 73 per cent premium in the southeast of England. The smallest price gap is in Wales, where listed properties are 22 per cent more expensive on average.

Grade II* and I properties, which comprise 5.8 per cent and 2.5 per cent of the listed building entries respectively, have the highest level of protection. These grades are often reserved for national landmarks and properties of rare historical importance, but there are some residential properties with the highest grade of listing, such as Park Crescent, the white terraced houses designed by the architect John Nash on the perimeter of Regent’s Park in London. These properties will be subject to interior and exterior restrictions, so they are difficult to renovate.

To make any alterations or repairs relating to the listing, owners have to obtain listed building consent from local planners to make sure the changes reflect the nature of the building. This can be a laborious and costly process; sometimes consent is granted only if original materials and techniques are used, and specialist craftspeople frequently have to be drafted in.

Amy Reynolds, the head of sales at the estate agency Antony Roberts, loves selling listed buildings but has come across some surprising restrictions. “I once sold a listed cottage with a dreadful 1970s fitted wardrobe that was also covered by the listing,” she says. “While I understand the value of showing changes over time, there was nothing special about that wardrobe and it made the bedroom difficult to use.”

Some owners relish the challenge, such as Loretta Fraser, 59, and her husband, Bill, 67. They spotted their grade II listed house on their wedding day in 1999. After they tied the knot at Grafton Manor in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, they peered through the hedge, saw the priest’s house next door and vowed to buy it if it ever came on to the market “as a sort of joke”, says Loretta, who eventually bought the property in 2017.

“We will always live in old houses. We love history and take the approach that we are just custodians of these beautiful homes. And my husband is 6ft 6in, so Georgian-style properties suit him because they have tall doorways and ceilings.”

Their six-bedroom house was built in about 1800, but it’s believed that the site, which was formerly part of the Grafton Estate, was home to a priest who was hanged for his part in the Gunpowder Plot in 1605. The heritage listing protects the exterior of the building as well as plasterwork in the lounge, cornicing, a staircase and the original Catholic confessional.

But it hasn’t stopped the Frasers from modernising the home. They replaced the wiring and plumbing, installed a new water tank and improved the property’s energy efficiency by installing separate boilers to isolate heating to the parts of the building they are using.

Their biggest project was replacing the courtyard with an orangery. The Frasers consulted an architect and then invited over planning officers from the council to discuss what would be acceptable. “[The planners] wanted oak in the windows, reclaimed bricks for any replacement brickwork and cement that had lime in it, so we followed everything,” Loretta says. The couple hired a recommended builder who had experience with old and listed properties. The Frasers are selling the house for £1.85 million.

Buyers of listed properties can be easily caught out with extra costs if they skip their research. They should ask the sellers if they have done any work that amounts to a change in the heritage listing — that can include doorways that have been opened or blocked, the installation of double-glazing and the attachment of satellite dishes or aerials to chimneys. The local authority can ask the new owners to put these right.

Tom Kain, at the buying agency Black Brick, says he finds breaches in listed building consent in the “majority” of the modernised listed buildings he sees and estate agents often don’t realise. “It is a case of buyer beware when understanding how they have been updated,” he says.

To avoid an unexpected bill, Kain recommends asking a surveyor to compare the building with the listing description and commissioning a heritage consultant report that outlines whether enforcement is likely and gives an idea of the costs involved.

Unapproved additions can knock a lot of value off a listed property. Adrian Philpott, of the estate agency Winkworth, recalls one client who put his grade II listed house up for sale for £3 million only to find it was unmortgageable because he had added an unapproved lift and a glass extension. Eventually Philpott found a cash buyer who secured it for £500,000 less than the asking price, “with the view that they would remediate. The lift and the glass extension have now gone.”

If a breach is found, the buyer has to gamble on the likelihood of the council finding out and negotiate the price according to the risk involved — or simply walk away. “They could apply for retrospective planning, but it’s unlikely the seller will allow them time,” says Jonathan Harington at the buying agency Haringtons UK. “I’ve never had a client take [this] route.”

Listed properties take 34 days longer to sell on average than non-listed properties at 55 days, according to the estate agency Hamptons. And those in a city sell quicker than their counterparts in the suburbs or countryside: 64 days on average, compared with 90 days.

This slowdown in the country is partly because prices rose sharply in rural areas in 2021 and 2022 when the pandemic-fuelled race for space was in full swing, and now, because of increased mortgage rates, buyers are struggling to borrow the sums they need.

The cost of building work and utilities has also increased recently, making renovating and heating an older property more expensive. Aneisha Beveridge, the head of research at Hamptons, says, “Particularly for listed homes, the energy price shock has made people think about what size home they need.”

Until 2012, owners of listed properties were excluded from paying VAT for approved works, but now the tax is charged at 20 per cent, just as it is with other properties. Insurance premiums are also higher for listed buildings, to match the greater expense of repairing or replacing any damage.

Maintenance costs were a key reason behind Sarah and George de Watteville’s move from their grade II listed cottage in Longparish, Hampshire, to a new-build townhouse. They spent 23 years modernising the seven-bedroom detached house, which dates to 1840, creating a garden party room and a two-bedroom holiday let annexe on their acre of land. Five of their six children have flown the nest, but the semi-retired couple found that life wasn’t much cheaper because their mortgage rate and utility bills had increased so much.

This prompted them to sell and move into a five-bedroom townhouse at Berkeley Homes’ Knights Quarter development in Winchester. Prices for a townhouse on the estate start from £1.3 million, but still the couple’s mortgage has reduced by a third. In addition, new-builds have to meet stricter energy efficiency standards, which means they are 57 per cent cheaper to run on average than older homes.

“In our previous home with dated insulation, our energy bills were extortionate at about £1,000 a month,” George, 63, says. “Here, we’ve got great insulation, underfloor heating and radiators, so we’re hopeful we will notice a positive difference.”

Sarah, 57, says, “We loved our life in the village, but the maintenance of a home of that scale took up a lot of our time.”

 

From deepest Cornwall to the wild Scottish Highlands, life’s a beach at our top 20 coastal hotspots

By Tim Palmer

If this year’s stop-start summer weather is good for one thing, it’s to remind us how vital it is to be ready to make the most of a rare day when the sun peeks out from behind the rainclouds. Rather than gambling precious time off on our increasingly unreliable climate, live by the sea — then every day can be like a holiday. You’ll be in pole position to spend time in, on or beside the water.

This selection of the best places to live by the coast includes something for everyone: arty, commutable towns, seaside suburbs, pretty honeypots and spectacular, wild escapes. All these contrasting locations have something to offer in every season, with the kind of communities, connections and practicalities that will make the holiday feeling last all year round. And there’s something for every budget, too — with an average house price for each location provided by Savills, using Land Registry data.

 

The Witterings, West Sussex

West Wittering’s vast expanse of pristine white sand is a spectacle you might hope to see in the Western Isles or the Caribbean, but in the overcrowded southeast of England it’s a miracle. Every aquatic activity is catered for here: surfing, sailing, kayaking and paddleboarding in Chichester Harbour, or just eating chips from the stylish beach café. The village itself is idyllic, with daisy-covered lawns and lovely flint houses in a warren of winding lanes and private roads. It’s easy to be discreet here, which is one reason why A-list celebs such as Kate Winslet and Keith Richards have chosen to call it home. House prices are correspondingly stratospheric — an average of £954,150. Which is where its next-door neighbour, East Wittering, comes in. Its own beach is pretty good, West Wittering is only a 30-minute walk away and you can get an average home here for about half the price. It’s much less rarefied and bucolic, but a lot more practical with its friendly pub, fresh fish from the fisherman’s hut on the beach and an old-fashioned selection of independent shops.
Average house price (East and West): £537,897

 

North Berwick, East Lothian

With two great beaches and a harbour, North Berwick has everything you want for a life by the sea, and a whole lot more besides: a brilliant high street packed with independent shops, natural beauty all around, excellent schools and a half-hour train link to Edinburgh. You’ll see swimmers in the water and dog-walkers on the sand all year round, but it’s in summer that the town really comes into its own. There’s a summer solstice beach bonfire, the Fringe by the Sea festival brings in the crowds for cultural high jinks and the lobster shack serves its famous lobster rolls. No wonder house prices are high. A period mansion in a prime spot on Fidra Road could cost over £2 million.
Average price: £460,161

 

Shaldon, Devon

This self-styled “quaint drinking village with a fishing problem” certainly knows how to have a good time. From the water carnival to the summer regatta and the giant beach bonfire, there’s always something going on — and most of it revolves around the water. Paddleboarding and kayaking are to the fore in the Teign estuary and there’s high-class yachting in the choppier waters of the Channel. There’s also a choice of red-sand beaches, but check the tides before you head through the old smugglers’ tunnel to Ness Cove Beach — it disappears at high water. As well as the trio of pubs, there’s a butcher, a baker and well-stocked village store. If you can, grab one of the Georgian houses on the village green, which go for about £1 million, depending on size and condition.
Average price: £516,087

 

Folkestone, Kent

Folkestone’s eye-catching regeneration remains a work in progress, but the colourful Old High Street and views of the sea, the White Cliffs and France from the revitalised Harbour Arm make this the most interesting base on the much-hyped Kent coast. Even the areas untouched by the town’s arty makeover are looking brighter, with the blighted bus station due to be transformed into a park. Add high-speed trains (reaching London St Pancras in under an hour), excellent schools and superior sports facilities, and Folkestone is hard to beat. The most striking address is the new seafront Shoreline development, where prices range from £395,000 for a one-bedroom apartment to £2.75 million for a three-bedroom penthouse.
Average price: £300,448

• Why Folkestone, Kent, is the best place to live in the southeast of England 2024

 

Arnside, Cumbria

The magnificent vista along the wooded shore of the Kent estuary is one of the best estuary views — an ever-changing spectacle of glowing sand, sparkling water and wonderful wildlife. Try to bag a room or two with a view and ideally a garden, perhaps at sea level on the Promenade or High Knott Road and Redhills Road closer to the panoramic summit of Arnside Knott. A handful of larger, grander homes might top the £1 million mark but there are plenty of good houses on the market for £500,000. Visitors descend on the village on a summer’s evening to watch the sunset while tucking into cod and chips from the famous chippie. But the social scene remains lively all year at the friendly sailing club and a variety of other groups and classes.
Average price: £367,629

 

Arnside, Cumbria

The magnificent vista along the wooded shore of the Kent estuary is one of the best estuary views — an ever-changing spectacle of glowing sand, sparkling water and wonderful wildlife. Try to bag a room or two with a view and ideally a garden, perhaps at sea level on the Promenade or High Knott Road and Redhills Road closer to the panoramic summit of Arnside Knott. A handful of larger, grander homes might top the £1 million mark but there are plenty of good houses on the market for £500,000. Visitors descend on the village on a summer’s evening to watch the sunset while tucking into cod and chips from the famous chippie. But the social scene remains lively all year at the friendly sailing club and a variety of other groups and classes.
Average price: £367,629

 

Tynemouth, Tyne and Wear

For all the upwardly mobile appeal of revitalised Whitley Bay, elegant Tynemouth is long established as the first choice for the discerning Geordie in search of sand, surf and super-fresh seafood. You’ll find the first two at blue-flagged Longsands, the pick of the beaches. Riley’s Fish Shack provides the latter, turning out top-class grub from a Portakabin on King Edward’s Bay, which has its own blue flag. Away from the shore, the town has an appealing arty-crafty collection of indie shops and restaurants, as well as a lively market in the old railway station. Good schools and a 35-minute Metro connection to the centre of Newcastle ensure it scores highly for practicalities. Finding a house — or a parking space — may not be plain sailing. Demand is high and period homes in prime spots close to the beach such as Percy Gardens can push the seven-figure barrier. There’s better value to be found on Millview Drive or the Broadway, or two miles up the coast in neighbouring Cullercoats.
Average price: £320,276

 

Portobello, Edinburgh

Go back 20 years and it’s hard to imagine that down-at-heel Porty would become one of Edinburgh’s most fought-over addresses. But with three-bedroom houses flying off the shelves for about £800,000 and the best detached homes topping the £1 million mark, this sandy suburb is where every artist, author and cool young family now wants to live. The beach — with kayaking and volleyball in summer, bonfires in winter and swimming all year round — is the big draw. The useful high street has more than its fair share of artisans and indie establishments. Pizza from Civerinos Slice Bar and seafood from Shrimpwreck ensure that foodies don’t need to take the 20-minute bike ride or 30-minute bus journey into the city centre for seriously good grub.
Average price: £303,208

 

Saundersfoot, Pembrokeshire

Saundersfoot may not have the Instagrammable looks of Tenby along the coast, but on most counts it’s more than a match for its colourful Georgian neighbour. A recently completed harbour development has brought a bit of buzz to the waterfront, while Saundersfoot Beach was named one of the three most sustainable in the world in a TripAdvisor survey this year and there are two others to hang out on. The sandy beaches are the big draw for holidaymakers, but there’s enough going on year-round to make this the perfect base to explore the riches of the wild coast of west Wales. There’s a good primary school, trains to Swansea (in a leisurely 90 minutes) and a full roster of community clubs and activities.
Average price: £370,537

 

Amble, Northumberland

Today, there’s little sign of the gloom that followed the decline of the mining industry here — head to the beaches or harbour where you can buy fish fresh from the boats, and admire the view of Coquet Island, home to puffins and rare roseate terns. You can dine on top-notch seafood at Jasper’s Bistro or the Fish Shack — where Harrison Ford tucked into sardines and a pint while filming the latest Indiana Jones movie, Dial of Destiny. The schools are good and access to Newcastle, the East Coast Main Line and the wilder corners of the windswept Northumberland coast could hardly be easier. Unlike holiday-home honeypots such as Bamburgh or Craster, this is a proper, year-round community: to see just how much is going on, check the Ambler, the town’s own hyperlocal paper. House prices are forgiving — less than half the cost of buying in neighbouring Warkworth, according to Rightmove.
Average price: £209,709

 

Ballycastle, Co Antrim

With expansive beaches, Game of Thrones scenery all around and views across the wild Atlantic to Rathlin Island and the Mull of Kintyre, Ballycastle is a feast for the eyes. And for the tastebuds — try the brilliant bakery Ursa Minor and the North Coast Smokehouse, and the local produce at the market, before tucking into Morton’s famous fish and chips. See the town at its liveliest during the Ould Lammas Fair in late August, when thousands crowd into the streets to watch the horse-trading while tucking into local delicacies such as yellowman (honeycomb) and dulse (seaweed). The best address is probably Quay Road, where a new, four-bedroom Georgian-style townhouse is on the market for £475,000.
Average price: £249,667

 

Waterloo, Merseyside

The greatest attractions here are the 100 life-sized cast-iron figures that make up Another Place, Antony Gormley’s mesmerising installation which has transformed the huge sandy Crosby Beach into one of the country’s most uplifting spectacles — even more so if you spot one of the dolphins that are increasingly regular visitors to the Mersey. But there are more down-to-earth attractions in this unpretentious beachside enclave that’s less than 20 minutes by reliable Merseyrail train from the centre of Liverpool. There are good schools, a lively selection of bars and restaurants clustered around the station on South Road and the lovely Plaza Community Cinema. Best of all is a useful stock of Victorian and Edwardian houses, which are both closer to the water and cheaper than in Waterloo’s better-known neighbour, Crosby. A four-bedroom place with a view of the beach will cost £350,000-£400,000. An extra £100,000 will secure a spot right on the beach.
Average price: £213,198

 

Mumbles, Glamorgan

For somewhere that’s essentially a suburb of Swansea, Mumbles has a frankly indecent amount to offer the most demanding thalassophile. Within a few miles of the centre of Wales’s second city, you can watch wading birds forage on the shoreline of Swansea Bay, explore the rockpools of Bracelet Bay, join the hardy year-round swimmers at Langland Bay or hop on your surfboard at Caswell Bay. An ice cream from Joe’s, Forte’s or Verdi’s is the perfect reward for a day on the beach. For those seeking even wilder landscapes Rhossili Bay, on the tip of the Gower peninsula, is 40 minutes in the opposite direction. The best addresses round here — some would say in all of Wales — are Caswell Bay and Langland, sometimes optimistically described as the country’s answer to the Hamptons.
Average price: £412,524

 

Penzance/Newlyn, Cornwall

Penzance may be at the end of the train line, but this is no salty backwater, and some new investments have spruced things up. Cornish culture is to the fore, and since the pandemic a clutch of bars and restaurants have opened, including 45 Queen Street, Lovetts café and the harbourside fish joint Argoe, which is listed in the Michelin guide. From historic Chapel Street to the art deco Jubilee Pool (where full-time residents get a discount), architecture is a strong point. And best of all, those beautiful old houses offer excellent value for money, at least compared with the hooray hotspots on the north coast. “We remain in a buyer’s market and there’s plenty of choice, from detached Victorian villas for around £1 million, to cute cottages overlooking Mount’s Bay for under £500,000,” says Anna Sharp, of the buying agency Black Brick.
Average price: £302,328

 

Nairn, Highlands

You wouldn’t mistake the weather for Tenerife, but Nairn is one of the sunniest, driest corners of Scotland. Faint praise, perhaps, but that means there’s more time to enjoy the panoply of pursuits on offer in this handsome town on the Moray Firth. It has two beaches, two championship golf courses and limitless walking and mountain biking opportunities nearby, and a resident pod of dolphins to watch out for. A books and arts festival highlights Nairn’s cultural depth. The bright lights and superstores of Inverness are close at hand (30 minutes by car, 20 by train), but you can get most of what you need in the town centre. There’s a good range of Victorian homes, from cottages for about £200,000 to large detached villas (£500,000 or so).
Average price: £250,435