Stonehaven has been named among the most expensive seaside towns for those looking to buy a house, new figures have shown.
Data taken from Bank of Scotland’s annual seaside town review shows the town was the fourth-most costly coastal location for house-buyers in Scotland last year.
The average price of a property in the Aberdeenshire town was £218,877 – leaving it behind only St Andrews, Dunbar and North Berwick in the rankings.
Laura Considine, a partner at estate agents Aberdein Considine’s Stonehaven branch, said the town has an “enduring appeal”, and has been made more accessible due to the opening of the AWPR in 2019.
Town has ‘so much to offer’
“Stonehaven has so much to offer, which is why it is always popular with buyers, no matter what is happening in the local, national or global economy,” she added.
“The addition in recent years of the Aberdeen bypass has opened Stonehaven up to even more people, with employment hubs in Westhill and Dyce now the easiest of commutes.”
The Aberdeen Solicitors Property Centre (ASPC) revealed the situation has improved further, with the average house price in Stonehaven so far this year £242,918.
John MacRae, the organisation’s chairman, said: “Stonehaven has always been a popular town in the area as it has many amenities – open air swimming pool, golf course, good shops, pubs and restaurants and so on. It also has excellent road and rail access to Aberdeen.
“Mackie Academy enjoys a good reputation. The housing range was always pretty good, from modest starter flats and houses right through to grand merchants houses from the Victorian and Edwardian eras. That mix of housing has been added to in recent years by new builds.
“It is no surprise to me that Stonehaven houses command good prices.”
Caithness seaside towns among cheapest
Although Stonehaven lies high up the rankings, elsewhere in the north Thurso and Wick were both among the cheapest seaside towns last year, with average prices of £104,041 and £106,062 respectively.
Invergordon and Kirkwall were among the towns with the biggest house price increases over the last decade, with the cost of a home rising by 48% and 56%.
Graham Blair, mortgages director at Bank of Scotland, said: “Scotland’s stunning coastline makes its seaside towns highly desirable places to live, with homebuyers hunting properties in the likes of North Berwick and St Andrews facing a hefty price premium.
“However for those prepared to cast their nets a little wider, Scotland still provides great value in comparison to coastal areas in other parts of Britain, with the west coast in particular offering the benefits of seaside living at a much more affordable price.”
