The cost of buying a home by the sea has outstripped the price of inland properties in the last two years, according to a new survey.

Homebuyers are prepared to pay extra for the added attraction of a coastal view and in the process pushed prices above the average, the study by Halifax Estate Agents has found.

Padstow in Cornwall has seen the biggest rise since 2001, with the average property value increasing 103 per cent from £109,833 to £223,084.

The county average was 61 per cent.

In second place was Pwllheli in Gwynedd, which saw an increase of 85 per cent. The average for Wales was 42 per cent. Third was Penzance, Cornwall, with a property value rise of 83 per cent.

Cornwall appears to be one of the main areas attracting homebuyers wanting to live by the sea with four towns appearing in the top ten.

Welsh coastal towns also did well, with three in the top ten.

Halifax Estate Agents analysed the property prices for more than 100 seaside towns in England and Wales during the past two years and found more than 70 per cent of the locations examined had outperformed their region.

The survey results also showed the seaside town with the most expensive average house price was Sandbanks in Dorset at £403,594.

Elsewhere around the country, the housing market is showing signs of picking up despite prices remaining flat during August for the third month in a row.

The average price of a house in England and Wales remained unchanged at £135,200, according to property web site hometrack.

But at the same time the group said there had been a 1.5 per cent increase in new buyers, while sales were five per cent higher and the percentage of the asking price people selling their home achieved stabilised at 94.5 per cent.

Tuesday August 26, 2003