SIDMOUTH property values are among the highest in the UK s seaside resorts, despite the average price of a home in the town plummeting by around �40,000 in the last year.

SIDMOUTH property values are among the highest in the UK's seaside resorts, despite the average price of a home in the town plummeting by around �40,000 in the last year.

The town ranks alongside a royal hideaway in a Seaside Property League compiled by a property valuation website which reveals how coastal resorts have fared over the past 12 months.

Detached homes in Sidmouth are the third priciest in the UK's seaside towns, with an average value of �367,916. The town has the second most valuable flats with an average of �217,762.

The average cost of a Sidmouth home is �276,981, the 8th highest in the league and nearly �70,000 more than properties in the rest of Devon.

The figures reveal prices in the town have dropped to the tune of �41,559- 13 per cent- since June 2008.

Sidmouth estate agents think there is a simple reason the town ranks so highly.

"Sidmouth is still in demand" said Keith Christopher, an estate agent of 23 years who works for High Street firm Redferns. "If you want to live here you have to pay a premium. Prices are higher than a lot of the places around us, but people are still prepared to pay them if they see the right thing.

"The market here is not hugely buoyant but it is encouragingly buoyant. Enquiry levels and viewing levels have gone up but people coming here are fussy, it's got to be right for a lot of buyers.

"This week we sold a two bedroom terraced cottage, a reasonably cheap property, and had four offers for it. It sold for more than the asking price.

"It's quite amazing the number of people who holiday here and have ended up living here- I think Sidmouth gets into people psyches. It's a gentile sea-side town and has got everything. It's a very attractive place for people with money in their pocket.

"It would be nice if younger people who grew up here could afford to live in the town of their up brining."

David Gwillim, area director for the Sidmouth office of Bradleys, said: "Sidmouth is a very sought after and desirable place and very well known in the UK. People look to retire here and often don't need mortgages.

"It's a healthy environment provided the price is right, buyers are very clued up these days."

Sidmouth's semi-detached or terraced properties don't feature in the figures.

Rock, in Cornwall, favoured by Princes William and Harry, tops the league with an average home value of �548,261.