The explosion in house prices in seaside resorts such as Padstow, Rock and Sandbanks has been one of the great features of the property market of recent times. A decade or so ago, you could have snapped up a fisherman’s cottage or a bungalow near the seafront for small change. These days, even the most unprepossessing shack can command London – or should that be Monte Carlo? – prices.

But don’t despair. For every resort that has already become hip and funky, there are a good few more that are still sad and squalid – with rock-bottom property prices to match. Some of these places, unfortunately, seem doomed to stay that way. Look carefully, though, and you should be able to find a handful poised to be the next best thing. But how do you go about it?

The key is regeneration projects. Up and down the coast, local councils are pumping millions of pounds into giving their towns a makeover. Many are little more than elaborate public-relations exercises, but some local authorities have ambitious plans that include new art galleries or cultural centres, renovated piers or – best of all – a new marina. The daily spend of boat users within a marina town is extremely high, and, once desirable quayside flats are built, trendy restaurants and bars follow. So, where do you start? Here are some places across Britain that could be the next investment hot spots.

THE SOUTHWEST

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Padstow, Budleigh Salterton, Lyme Regis, St Mawes and Fowey have all long since up and come, so where will the next rising star be? Stephen Bohane, head of the South West of England Regional Development Agency, tips Penzance. “It has a thriving community of artists and there is a heritage initiative to do up old buildings, which is bringing private investors to the town,” he says. You could still pick up a two-bedroom flat there for between £120,000 and £130,000, and a three-bedroom house for less than £200,000. That wouldn’t buy much in Rock.

Those looking to benefit from the marina effect should try Bridport and nearby West Bay, Dorset. A new £20m harbour, opened two years ago, allows craft to berth there whatever the level of the tide. Another £1.25m is being spent over the next three years to give Bridport a general makeover. “This is widely touted as Notting Hill-on-Sea,” says Simon Neville-Jones, of the Savills office in Wimborne. “It has a trendy new cinema, a Saturday market, a posh bakery and a good restaurant, the Riverside. Little wonder that celebrities such as Martin Clunes and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall have homes near here.” Prices are still reasonable, though: McKinlays (01308 459525, www.mckinlays.co.uk) has a three-bedroom terraced former coastguard’s cottage with sea views over West Bay for £244,950.

SOUTH WALES

The extension of the M4 and dual carriageway as far west as Carmarthen has made Pembrokeshire incredibly popular with weekenders from Swansea and Cardiff. Property prices in Tenby, for example, have risen by 41% in the past three years, new figures from the Halifax reveal. Property is also much sought-after on the Gower peninsula, which doubles as an upmarket suburb of Swansea.

Porthcawl, equidistant between Cardiff and Swansea, could be one to watch. Prices are up more than 60% on three years ago, but actually fell back by 2% last year, apparently after the scaling-back of plans for a £30m regeneration scheme – including residential and retail developments and berths for 400 boats. If Porthcawl, with its fine beaches and good surfing, finally builds a decent marina, it will become the yachting capital of South Wales, and property prices there could really take off. If not, it will remain another dusty seaside town with its glory days long gone. A large five-bedroom house with four reception rooms near the Blue Flag beach at Rest Bay, in the Locks Common area of the town, is for sale for £585,000 with Watts & Morgan (01656 644288, www. wattsandmorgan.co.uk).

THE SOUTH

All along the south coast, planners are trying to revive down-at-heel seaside communities, often with a natty gimmick. At Boscombe, just along the beach from Bournemouth, for example, they are building an offshore reef to churn some life into the millpond waters of the bay and attract “stockbroker surfers” as part of an £8m regeneration scheme. Flats at the Reef (01202 557766), a new block overlooking the sea, are on sale for between £250,000 and £925,000. The local authorities in Bognor, meanwhile, are trying to encourage more office jobs in the town, to stimulate growth and free the place from its fish-and-chips-and-candyfloss image. You can still pick up a flat on the seafront for less than £200,000. Worthing, Littlehampton and Shoreham are looking at ways to go upmarket, too.

A recent report by agents Knight Frank, Surging South, tipped Eastbourne as a property hot spot in the making. The number of residents commuting to London has increased by 82% in a decade, while there have been improvements to the marina and retail district. This has yet to translate into price rises, however. The latest Halifax figures show the market is up just 14% over the past three years – one of the smallest rises in the country.

Another potential boom area is the Isle of Wight, where the number of homes is set to increase by a third by 2026. “For best investment potential, look at East Cowes, as opposed to West Cowes,” advises Chris Husson-Martin, a partner at Knight Frank in Southampton. The agency (02380 488760, www.knightfrank.co.uk) is selling two, three- and four-bedroom flats at Yvery Court, in East Cowes, for between £325,000 and £795,000.

There is plenty of scope for growth on the Kent coast, too. Although prices in Whitstable have been boosted by the influx of the down-from-London oyster-eating set, Ramsgate and neighbouring Margate could be poised for great things – helped by a new high-speed rail link to London, due to start operating in 2009. If you are in for the long term, then even Dover may be worth a try.

THE EAST

Property in Norfolk and Suffolk does not come cheap. A small fisherman’s cottage in ever-popular Southwold would set you back £350,000. So, is there an “upwardly mobile” place to buy on this coastline? “You won’t find one,” says Jennie Jones, of Jennie Jones estate agents, with refreshing can-dour. “You must go inland eight miles to Hales-worth, which is a pleasant little market town with a station.

Although its prices are shooting up, they are still appreciably lower than on the coast.” However, Andreas Bonney, director of the eastern office of buying agency County Homesearch, tips Sheringham, just west of Cromer on the north Norfolk coast, for its potential. “You can often judge a place by its cafes,” he says. “In Sheringham, you have a mix – there are still cheap tea bars, but expensive coffee shops are moving in. The town has a good seafront and is definitely going upmarket, despite being 25% cheaper than Holt [just inland].” Brown & Co (01263 822488, www.brown-co.com) has a brick-and-flint three-bedroom detached cottage on Cromer Road, with off-street parking and front and rear gardens, for £225,000.

THE NORTH

Anyone assuming that there are cheap houses to be found in the better-known seaside towns and villages of the Northumberland coastline will be disappointed. A three-bedroom cottage in Bamburgh, with its dramatic beach and castle, would set you back £300,000. Move a few miles down the coast to Seahouses, however, and prices drop sharply.

“Seahouses is a little more fish-and-chips, but it’s lively and friendly, and you get more house for your money,” says Diane Taylor, of George F White estate agents. “I recently sold a three-bed semidetached with great views for £300,000 in Seahouses. In Bamburgh, it would have cost £400,000. It also pays to check tucked-away villages, where sometimes you’ll find a terraced cottage for as little as £130,000.” Dobsons (01661 872111), another agent, has a modern four-bedroom detached house on the outskirts of Seahouses, with views over the sea and golf course; the guide price is £295,000.

Travelling further south, Scarborough and Whitby, in Yorkshire, and Lytham St Anne’s, in Lancashire have long been pricey. Morecambe, up the coast, could be one to watch. Thanks in part to a regeneration scheme, prices in the town have risen 51% over the past three years, albeit from an extremely low base, which suggests that there could be scope for further rises.

Anglesey, north Wales, is worth a look, especially in the north of the island, where prices are 15%-20% lower than in the south. Sheridan Jones (01248 717176, www.sheridanjonesestateagents.co.uk) has a detached six-bedroom Victorian house, with a one-bedroom holiday cottage, in an area of outstanding beauty in Cemaes Bay, the most northerly point in Wales, for £375,000.

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