Sun-lit beaches, luxury yachts, and whispers of “million-pound views” around every corner have found a home in the UK’s most expensive seaside town. While it seems to be a distinctly British dream to one day move to be by the sea, the ones who have done particularly well in life seem to flock to this one postcode.
For many, seaside life means family holidays, penny slots and an ice cream with a flake; for people in Sandbanks, it’s a high-stakes property game that could set them back millions. While you might expect millionaires to jet off to Monaco, the French Riviera or even nowadays Dubai, the wealthy who don’t want to leave British soil instead have seemed to opt for the Dorset coast. The small peninsula that peeks out of the Poole coastline has taken the crown as Britain’s most expensive seaside resort.
According to Rightmove data, the average asking price for a home there is a smidge under £1.3 million, making it the only seaside spot in the country where average prices have broken through the £1 million mark.
Even though property values have eased slightly, starting to drop a few per cent from a few years ago, Sandbanks remain firmly at the top of coastal property rankings and among the very top of anywhere outside swanky London townhouses.
In a striking example of just how pricey even something small can be, a “tiny” bungalow near Sandbanks recently hit the market at £1.5 million.
To put the eye-watering figure into perspective, Sandbank properties fetch more than three times the national average of £378,240.
The property, on Shore Road, does boast some pretty impressive views across the coast, and the family are set to make a fortune as the area around it turns into a millionaire playground.
Bought by the current family way back in 1957 for a meagre £5,000 – equivalent to £105,00 today – but will now fetch more than an eye-watering seven figures.
Around the peninsula, these deals are not as crazy as you may think; homes reach astronomical sums: an older waterside bungalow was sold for £13.5 million, making it one of the priciest deals in bungalow history.
Speaking on the Sandbanks property boom, Colleen Babcock, property expert at Rightmove, said: “Sandbanks now stands out as the only seaside spot with an average asking price of over a million mark.
“By contrast, lower-priced seaside spots like Saltcoats and Peterlee offer home-movers a sea view at a fraction of the price, with average asking prices over a quarter of a million pounds below the national average.”
The draw of the Dorset coast hasn’t just appealed to the rich, but also the famous. Harry Redknapp and his son Jamie are both thought to have homes there, with former residents including Liam Gallagher and even John Lennon.
But with all that esteem comes tourists, with thousands flocking to the huge beach every year. Sightseeing buses from Bournemouth have even begun parking up to give the average person a look at how the other half live.