It will come as no surprise to hear sales of homes near the coast have surged over the past six months with holiday-let mortgages for properties in Wales nearly doubling since September.

The bank said the most popular destination for holiday-let buyers was the South West of England with 39% of customers choosing this location for their investment.

Purchases in Wales increased since September from 10% to 19% and the coastlines around the north of the country, including Pwllheli, Holyhead and Llandudno, have proved particularly popular for holiday homes.

The data also shows the average age of a holiday let mortgage customer was 51. What’s more, Hodge customers were willing to spend on average £403,143 on a holiday home – nearly two thirds higher than the average house price in the UK of £252,000.

Of those purchasing a holiday home, 35% remortgage their existing home to finance their holiday home while 65% take out a new holiday let specific mortgage.

With travel hugely restricted and people re-evaluating their holiday plans during the Covid-19 pandemic, the data showed customers clearly wanted to head to the coast, with beach resorts in the South West proving hugely popular.

Newquay, St Ives and Penzance in Cornwall emerged as major hotspots along with Wadebridge, Padstow and Port Isaac.

Over the past six months, Wales has also soared in popularity, especially around the north West in Pwllheli, Holyhead and Rhosneigr. Devon also holds a lot of appeal, with the likes of Bideford, Ilfracombe and Barnstaple proving popular.

The least popular regions with only 1% of purchases were Greater London and the East Midlands, with West Midlands and the South East at 2% for those buying holiday lets.

Emma Graham, business development director at Hodge, explained: “Many people have not been able to holiday abroad for more than a year now and staycations have therefore become hugely popular.

“We think this has almost certainly led to people re-evaluating their finances, as well as holiday plans and the holiday let market is looking very healthy.

“Given the appetite for a holiday by the sea, it’s no surprise that homes near the beach or coast are the most popular for holiday homes.”

Indeed, Hodge launched a mortgage designed for those wanting to own a holiday let property in the UK after seeing an increase in enquiries. Customers can borrow up to £1 million and there is a maximum lending age of 95. In addition, it comes with a Hodge Early Repayment Promise, which means if the customer sells their home and moves out, and pays off their mortgage completely, the  bank will waive the Early Repayment Charges.

Graham added: “We saw a gap in the holiday let mortgage market for a customer-friendly product that allows owners to stay at the property for a longer period, as well as the ability to use letting sites.

“Following Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic, we think staycationing is here to stay and we want to help would-be holiday homeowners make that all-important purchase.

“We are able to offer customers up to three holiday let mortgages too, so if they want to purchase a property in more than one location, we can help.”

Top ten postcode areas for holiday let mortgages (Source: Hodge)