Scotland’s coastal settlements continue to attract strong demand from homebuyers, with many seaside towns outperforming the national housing market both in price levels and long-term growth.
This report examines the performance of Scotland’s coastal housing markets over the past six years, highlighting the dominance of the East Coast and the exceptional desirability of locations such as Elie & Earlsferry, Gullane, Longniddry, St Andrews and North Berwick.
Coastal areas of Scotland are sought-after as housing locations. 9 of the Top 20 (45%) of Scottish settlements with the highest average house price are located on the Scottish coastline.
Elie & Earlsferry again comfortably took top place for the highest priced Scottish coastal town, with an average price close to £572,000. Gullane was again second, with an average price over £522,000, while Longniddry pipped St Andrews for third place, with an average price of around £485,000.
9 out of Scotland’s top 20 most expensive settlements are located on the coast, with the top 5 all with an average house price higher than £450,000.
The East Coast dominates, with Fife and East Lothian home to 9 of the top 10 coastal towns on this measure.
There has been relatively high growth in a number of these areas since 2019. Longniddry and St Andrews have had the highest growth out of the top 5 towns, up by 39% and 33% respectively.
Coastal settlements in Scotland are sought-after, especially on the East coast, as demonstrated by the high average house price in these areas and the strong level of growth in the last six years. The demand to live in these areas comfortably exceeds the supply available.
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