NORTH Berwick, Dunbar, Cockenzie and Musselburgh are among the most expensive seaside towns in Scotland with East Lothian's coastline seeing some of the biggest house price increases in the last decade, according to the Bank of Scotland.
All of the data came from Registers of Scotland.
North Berwick is the most expensive seaside town in Scotland, with an average house price of £401,590. St Andrews in Fife is in second place with £354,136.
Dunbar features at number three on the list with an average house price of £224,213; Cockenzie is seventh with £206,118; and Musselburgh is in 10th place with its figure £199,295.
Out of East Lothian’s seaside towns, Cockenzie saw the biggest annual increase in house prices.
In 2019, properties in Cockenzie cost an average of £168,484. In 2020 this rose to £206,118, an increase of 22 per cent. That rise is the fourth biggest out of Scottish seaside towns and the eighth largest rise in Britain.
When looking at house price increases over the past 10 years, Cockenzie is second with 60 per cent, Prestonpans is eighth with 41 per cent, Musselburgh is in ninth with 31 per cent, and North Berwick is in 10th, also with 31 per cent.
The average price of a seaside property in Scotland has increased five per cent over the last year.
All the towns on the top 10 for Britain as a whole are in England, with the south-west dominating the list, including taking all three of the top spots. Number one is Salcombe in Devon, with the average house price an eye-watering £950,325.
At the other end of the scale, the cheapest seaside town in Britain is Millport on the island of Great Cumbrae, North Ayrshire, with average house prices just £74,148. The top 10 cheapest seaside towns in Britain are all in Scotland, almost all of them on the west coast.
Graham Blair, mortgages director at Bank of Scotland, said: “Scotland’s stunning coastline makes its seaside towns highly desirable places to live, with homebuyers hunting properties in the likes of North Berwick and St Andrews facing a hefty price premium.
“However, for those prepared to cast their nets a little wider, Scotland still provides great value in comparison to coastal areas in other parts of Britain, with the west coast in particular offering the benefits of seaside living at a much more affordable price.”
The full top 10 in Scotland is:
- North Berwick, East Lothian – £401,590
- St Andrews, Fife – £354,136
- Dunbar, East Lothian – £224,213
- Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire – £218,877
- Anstruther, Fife – £215,659
- Dalgety Bay, Fife – £206,805
- Cockenzie, East Lothian – £206,118
- Helensburgh, Argyll and Bute – £204,909
- Inverkip, Inverclyde – £204,571
- Musselburgh, East Lothian – £199,295
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