South coast UK seaside towns that give best buy to let rental yields revealed

Britons looking to invest in a holiday home or a buy to let property in one of the UK’s seaside towns should head to Plymouth, according to the findings of research from property website Globrix.

It has ranked every seaside resort in the UK by their return on a buy to let property investment and found that towns in southern England dominate the list, with only two towns from northern England and two from Wales in the list.

The study reveals that Plymouth in Devon is the top town, with properties in the seaside resort raking in a 6.51% rental yield and costing an average of £135,412.

Further along the south coast, Portsmouth, known for its promenade of amusements, cafes and rock shops, is a little more expensive with average asking prices at £164,464 but its 5.86% average yield is still good.

Blackpool, famous for its illuminations, tower and donkeys, was in the third place, with a rental yield of 5.14%, making it the most profitable seaside town in the north. But its property asking prices are lower, £105,387 on average.

Brighton, also on the south coast, has the most expensive properties of any seaside town on the list, with average asking prices of £314,633. Although this allows investors to charge the highest rent of any resort, with an average monthly rent of £1,008, the rental yield they get is only 3.85% on average.

It also shows the coastal towns buy to let investors should avoid for investment purposes. These include Lytham St Annes in the North West, which has the lowest rental yield of 3.18%; Bideford and Appledore, in Devon, which has a rental yield of 3.23%; and Torquay which has a rental yield of 3.38%.

‘Our results reveal that buyers are more likely to get a good return on their investment if they buy in the larger seaside towns on the south coast and in south Wales, where regeneration money has poured in over the past decade or so,’ said Jennifer Warner from Globrix.

‘With the exception of Blackpool, towns in the north are notable by their absence from our list and there’s a complete lack of towns from the North East, such as Whitby, Scarborough or Bridlington,’ she explained.

‘That said, property prices are low by historical standards in seaside resorts across the country, so despite the stereotypical image of peeling paint and kiss me quick hats, now could be an ideal time to invest in a second home both to enjoy with your family and rent out when it suits,’ she added.