We all like to be beside the seaside - and you can do it for less in two East Anglian towns, new research shows. Lowestoft and Yarmouth are two of the cheapest seaside towns in the country.

We all like to be beside the seaside - and you can do it for less in two East Anglian towns, new research shows.

Lowestoft and Yarmouth are two of the cheapest seaside towns in the country. They are behind only Bridlington in Yorkshire in having the lowest property prices in a survey of 117 coastal towns over the past year. The average house in Lowestoft cost £141,878, according to Halifax estate agents, and cost £142,860 in Yarmouth. In Bridlington, the cheapest, the average was £139,645 - compared with a seaside towns average of £187,128.

Elsewhere in the country, living by the sea is likely to put thousands on the value of your home. The average home in a seaside town costs 3pc more than the average property in a coastal county, the equivalent of £5,298, according to Halifax. But the reverse is true in Yarmouth and Lowestoft, both of which are more than 20pc cheaper than the average for Norfolk or Suffolk. The country's most expensive seaside town is Sandbanks in Dorset, where the average home costs £488,761 - more than double the average in the whole of Dorset.

Lowestoft and Yarmouth are also in the top 20 seaside towns for quality of life. They are scored on factors including employment, health, hours of sunshine, traffic, burglary rate and education. Christchurch in Dorset is at number one in the table, with Yarmouth at number 15 and Lowestoft at number 17.

Colin Kemp, managing director of 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."

One local estate agent, who did not want to be named, said he was not surprised at the low prices in Yarmouth. "I am not surprised at all. There is a stigma attached to the

town. The town needs a facelift, but more to the point the people need a facelift."

Jacqui Curtis, from Ian Sinclair estate agents in Yarmouth, said the low prices were attracting buyers.

"We get people coming from Norwich to purchase here because of our

prices.

"It is now getting to the point where it is not so affordable for first time buyers because the buy to let investors have moved in to the lower part of the market."

Owen Darby, office manager at Darby and Liffen in Gorleston,

said: "It's a shame that Yarmouth is looked upon as somewhere people would avoid when it has so much potential and could be much better than it actually is."

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