Seaside houses can be eye – wateringly pricey but they make for shrewd …

Posted on by Listify Me

By
Fred Redwood


PUBLISHED:

14:53 GMT, 28 June 2013


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UPDATED:

16:20 GMT, 28 June 2013

Beach-front living still sways buyers. Just look at the news last week that a dilapidated home on Sandbanks went for a record price in the area of £1,725 per square foot.

‘Waterside properties, with direct access to the beach, are the most valuable on our books,’ says Richard Addington, of Savills Exeter office. ‘You can expect to pay a premium of up to 50 per cent for these houses.’

There are plenty on the market, from the pricey to the seriously pricey. Sunnyside, for example, is a beach house on Three Cliffs Bay, Gower, South Wales — the beach which was judged to have the best view in the country by VisitBritain.com. Set among dunes, with the village of Pennard a short walk away, this is the home of Richard and Cheryl Stone.

Life¿s a breeze: Homes at Poole Harbour, off Sandbanks in Dorset, attract premium prices

Life¿s a breeze: Homes at Poole Harbour, off Sandbanks in Dorset, attract premium prices

‘We can see Ilfracombe on good days and we see storm clouds chase up the Bristol Channel. It’s beautiful but also quiet — holidaymakers visit only in July and August,’ says Cheryl, an artist.
Sunnyside, on sale for £595,000, has two bedrooms. It was built on National Trust land in the 1920s and its lease expires in 2085.

Although seaside homes are expensive, they can make for shrewd investments. The High Street bank Halifax claims they have bucked the trend over the past ten years, increasing in value by 63 per cent, compared to a 30 per cent upturn in the rest of the country.

The West Country, which has seven of the ten most expensive seaside resorts in Britain, is in hot demand.

Leat House, in Port Gaverne, North Cornwall, for sale at £925,000, is a traditional beach house. Originally two fishermen’s cottages, these were knocked together to make one home with three receptions and four bedrooms. Its most alluring feature is the sea, which can be seen just beyond the back gate.

Salcombe in Devon is, perhaps, the
most budget-busting resort in the country. Its homes are seven times
more costly than those in Northumberland. No wonder Rod Stewart and Sir
Michael Parkinson are fans.

You
may not find quite so many superstars in Sidmouth, along the Jurassic
Coast, but you will get more house for your money there.

‘The beauty of this place is that we have direct frontage onto the beach, yet we are on the doorstep of the town centre,’ says David Harrison, who is selling Grade II-listed Clifton House, for £1.1 million.

‘It was in a bad state when I bought it 22 years ago but I have spent more than £300,000 on renovations.’

A vast array of architectural styles are displayed on the seashore — from the New England-style beach houses fronting Camber Sands, to the art deco and modernist masterpieces of Sandbanks.

With a price of £5.5 million, 45 Banks Road, Sandbanks, due for completion next spring, has the latest in high-tech heating, air conditioning, an indoor swimming pool, and has direct access to the beach and views of Poole Harbour.

Away from such glitz, bucket and spade purists may be attracted to Gay Dolphins in Pevensey, Sussex. With its Enid Blyton-ish name, this Victorian six-bedroom house is for sale at £740,000. It has its own beach and comes with a boat winch in the garden.

Before you splash out, buying a beach-front home has risks. ‘It’s wise to get a geological survey done for sand and pebble-shift on the beach and the progression of any coastal erosion,’ says Christopher Bailey, at Knight Frank.

‘And be prepared for noisy, messy strangers to become fixtures at the end of your garden in the summer. It’s the price you pay for having a wonderful view.’

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