Southend has been crowned the fifth best town in the UK for seaside properties.

Analysis carried out by showerstoyou saw the town rated highly for air quality, beaches and dry weather.

The investigation found Southend’s average property price was around £300,000 – more than half the average house price in the town of Salcombe in Devon which was a whopping £724,000.

Southend received an overall rating of 482 points out of 800.

Margate in Sussex came top of the list for best seaside properties, and Weymouth in Dorset second.

Echo:

Southend got top marks in the air quality index section, and was also commended for its five blue flag beaches.

East Beach, Shoebury Common Beach, Thorpe Bay Beach and Three Shells Beach all retained the prestigious title last year, while Westcliff Beach also picked up the award for the first time.

Out of the 50 towns included in the investigation, Southend was found to have the lowest numbers of days with rainfall, with 101 per year.

It is also said to enjoy an average of 1,654 hours of sunshine every year.

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However, Southend scored a low number of points in the average Air bnb nightly price – which was thought to be around £118.

Here is the top 10 rated UK towns for seaside properties and how many points they scored out of 800:

1. Margate - 537

2. Weymouth - 528

3. Torquay - 524

4. Porthcawl - 488

5. Southend - 482

6. Great Yarmouth – 473

7. Paignton – 461

8. Skegness – 427

9. Blackpool – 424

10. Tenby – 415