According to research by Halifax Estate Agents, the average home in a seaside area is some three per cent - about 5,298 pounds - above the typical price paid in their county. However, 24 of the 117 towns surveyed were revealed to be at least 20 per cent above the provincial average. Sandbanks was shown to be driving this pricing gap with houses in the town some 106 per cent more expensive than property in the rest of Dorset. The Mumbles in Wales and St Andrews were also shown to have relatively expensive coastal homes with price differences from average properties of 92 and 86 per cent respectively.

In addition, Sandbanks was reported to be the most expensive coastal town throughout Britain with the average home costing 488,761 pounds. Meanwhile, the south-west of England was revealed to be potentially putting the most pressure on homeowners' finances as nine of the country's ten most costly seaside areas are in the region. The Cornish town of Padstow and Milford-on-Sea in Hampshire are the second and third priciest beach-based towns after Sandbanks, with the average home costing 334,385 pounds and 326,277 poundsrespectively.

Colin Kemp, managing director for Halifax Estate Agents, said: "Seaside towns tend to have house prices that are at a premium to their surrounding areas and have generally seen strong house price growth over the past few years. There are still some bargains to be had for home buyers. Bridlington, Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth are the three seaside towns in Britain that offer the best value for money. Several seaside towns in the south-east also offer a combination of relatively low property prices and a high quality of life."

However, it could be homeowners in Scotland who have noted the most dramatic hike in secured loan repayments as since March 2004, nine of the ten towns which have seen the largest increases in house prices have been based in the principality. Eyemouth, located in the Scottish Borders, has witnessed the biggest rise with property values up by 82 per cent to 155,278 pounds. Stranraer and Girvan were also shown to have driven growth in the cost of housing north of the border.

Seaham, in northern England, was tenth in the Halifax study as it posted increases of 63 per cent to a typical value of 121,956 pounds. Meanwhile, Porthcawl was revealed to have the largest rises across Wales with homes up by an average of 60 per cent since 2004. Overall 24 of the seaside municipalities surveyed have seen average house price hikes of at least 50 per cent in the three years leading up to March 2007.

Earlier this year, Your Move claimed that due to the impact of five interest rate increases from the Bank of England's monetary policy committee over the last 12 months, property prices are set to fall over the course of this month as borrowers face an increase in secured loans repayments. According to the firm, house exchange values will decrease by 0.34 per cent, with year-on-year growth forecasted to drop to 8.8 per cent.