The 10 most affordable seaside towns in England and Wales are all in the north of the country, research has shown.

Whitehaven in Cumbria is the most affordable place in which to buy a property by the sea, followed by Withernsea on the East Yorkshire coast and Maryport in Cumbria, according to high street bank Halifax.

The group said the average cost of a home in all these areas was less than four times average earnings.

But at the other end of the scale, properties in Sandbanks in Dorset cost 21.7 times average earnings, making it the most expensive location in which to buy a home by the sea.

House prices in St Mawes, Rock and Fowey, all in Cornwall, are all around 15 times higher than average earnings, making them the next most expensive seaside towns.

The most affordable place to buy a property by the sea outside of northern England is Skegness, followed by Bexhill on Sea in East Sussex, where properties sell for around five times average earnings.

Barry and Rhyl are the most affordable seaside towns in Wales, with these towns also having a house price to earnings ratio of around five.

House prices in nine out of 10 seaside towns have more than doubled during the past eight years.

Buyers are prepared to pay a premium to live by the sea, with the average cost of a home near the coast rising by 115% since 2001, compared with an increase of 96% across England and Wales as a whole.

Pwllheli in Wales has seen the biggest jump in prices, with the average cost of a home there soaring by 206% during the past eight years, rising from £70,970 to £217,253.

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