Inside Devon’s Dubai: How a sleepy fishing town enjoyed a property boom with millionaires snapping up homes they had never seen… but five years later is the bubble finally bursting?

With its winding country lanes, small fishing boats and frequent rain showers, Salcombe feels a million miles from the Middle East.

But the sleepy Devon seaside town has undergone a property boom unprecedented outside the sunbaked Emirate, according to experts.

The town – nicknamed Chelsea-on-Sea – experienced a ‘perfect storm’ during Covid as thousands flocked out of cities and took the opportunity to work from home, putting pressure on an already expensive housing market.

During that time, local estate agents told the Daily Mail the town experienced a ‘goldrush’ with some properties doubling in price in just a couple of years and buyers spending millions on homes without even viewing them while others arrived by helicopter to discreetly tour homes away from prying eyes.

In recent months the second home market has declined prompting some to claim ‘the bubble has burst’ in Salcombe.

Blair Stewart from Strutt and Parker specialises in Prime Property Sales in Salcombe and South Hams says that isn’t the case and describes what’s happening as a ‘market correction’.

He said: ‘When Covid hit it turned everything on its head.

‘It was a feeding frenzy. I was doing 50% of my sales before the property ever hit the market.

Is the Salcombe property bubble finally popping? 

For years, the sleepy Devon seaside town has undergone a property boom unprecedented outside the sunbaked Emirate, according to experts

‘It was a surge, a massive influx of new buyers and it became like a goldrush.

‘Everybody was trying to bail out of London and they came down here on holiday and woke up to how beautiful it is.

‘The market was already really strong for second homes and we saw a 25% price jump in 2020.

‘We had well-known people coming down by helicopter. I’d pick them up and drive them around to view places and nobody ever spotted them walking along the street.

‘I don’t know anywhere else in the UK that experienced a situation like this, the nearest thing I can compare it to is the property buzz in Dubai when I worked there.’

At one point Blair was selling properties for £2,000 per square foot – equivalent to prices in Knightsbridge.

He first noticed a slowdown in the market in 2023 when many businesses started asking their employees to return to the office.

Additional stamp duty, a double council tax levy introduced by the local council in April and a new rule in Salcombe that newly built homes must be sold as main residences also contributed to the slowdown.

At one point Blair Stewart was selling properties for £2,000 per square foot – equivalent to prices in Knightsbridge

He says the town – nicknamed Chelsea-on-Sea – experienced a ‘perfect storm’ during Covid

He said: ‘I sold a £2million home because the owner had been told they have to go back to the office in London.

‘Some people came down with a Kirsty and Phil dream of living in the country but struggled with a 30 minute drive to the supermarket.

‘What we are getting here is a little bit of a return to normal.

‘Salcombe is still beautiful and popular. Buyers still pay a real premium for those amazing views as well as convenience and privacy.

‘The market is still going, there are just challenges. If there was a crash in the market none of these houses would have sold.’

In 2023 and 2024 Salcombe was named the UK’s most expensive seaside town, overtaking Sandbanks in Dorset, but lost the crown again in 2025.

In 2022 average house prices in the town were around £1.2million.

But visiting the Devon town this week, it was hard to miss the number of for sale signs currently posted.

Now though, it is a different story almost entirely 

It is no longer rare to see a for sale sign outside one of the resorts’ plush properties – but it is rare to see one sold 

Charlie Heath, associate director at Marchant Pettit who is based in Salcombe, added: ‘We had an extraordinary uplift in prices from 2020 to 2023, the equivalent normally would’ve been spread out over five to six years.

‘The vast majority of properties during Covid were going to sealed bids or best and final.

‘One property I valued in late 2019 was around £800k, I said put it on for £1m and sold for £1.4 in 2021.

‘Another went £1m over the guide price, there’s lots of examples of the sheer madness of the time.

‘A new development of townhouses were all sold between £600,000 and 700,000, three years later they were sold for between £1.25m and £1.275m.

‘The current situation is certainly not a market crash, we had a very good start to the year.

‘It is primarily the additional property stamp duty surcharge – people accepted three per cent but five per cent is making people adjust what is offered.

‘The reality of Salcombe now is there’s a gap between sellers and buyers – sellers are motivated to sell and will have the limit of what they can drop to and buyers have what they want to come up to and there is a gap at the minute. If they’re not selling to buy something else many are happy just to hold out for the price they want.

‘But we are getting good prices and are where we would probably expect to be if the last five years hadn’t happened.’

The holiday rentals sector was another area that benefited from the huge demand from families during Covid.

And while bookings have slowed to more normal levels, bosses insist Salcombe remains one of the country’s top holiday destinations.

James Spencer founded Pebbles, a holiday lettings company, in 2004 and is the largest employer in Salcombe.

He said: ‘During Covid money was moving so quickly. As soon as lockdowns were lifted, bookings exploded.

‘We have never experienced anything like those two years when winters were as busy as the summers.

‘It has slowed and last year was tough for a lot of businesses here but this year has been much better.

‘The character of the place hasn’t changed and this year Salcombe has this feel of a seaside family holiday destination as it did back in the 90s.’

But locals insist the town is still thriving – especially during the summer – although now operating at its pre-Covid levels.

Tamsin Lafferty-Hall, 41, who owns Bojangles Gift shop and Salcombe Cruises said: ‘The period around Covid was great for businesses here.

‘Our boat cruises were booked up three weeks in advance and we got some bad reviews because people were frustrated that everything was fully booked.

‘It was I think everybody did very well but there was always going to be a time when people could go abroad again.

‘You just had to make the most of it while it was happening.

‘I see a lot of properties on the market at the moment but I think that’s due to the double council tax for second homes.

‘Salcombe gets a lot of bad press for being expensive but it’s one of the most beautiful places in the country.’

Pam Williams, 72, who has lived in the area for 17 years, said: ‘It has certainly been quieter the last couple of years.

‘I know a lot of second home owners who have been hit by double council tax and put their houses up for sale.

‘Things are still selling but not as quickly as a few years ago

‘The summers were always busy as well as Christmas and New Year when people come back.

‘I preferred the buzz when it was busy, people would come down on a Friday evening and go back on a Sunday.

‘But the parking situation was absolutely atrocious which makes it very difficult to just nip to the shops and get something.’