SALCOMBE has surprised property experts all over the country by reaching the top 10 in a list of UK millionaire hotspots.

Beating off competition from wealthy communities in the London commuter belt, Salcombe ranked ninth in a list of towns with the highest proportion of properties valued at £1million or above – up from 27th position just a year ago.

The survey, carried out by PrimeLocation.com, rev-ealed 28.9 per cent of Salcombe's properties ach-ieved a £1million valuation.

All of the other towns in the top 10 were within commuting distance to London, and seven were in the South East.

Nigel Lewis, property analyst at PrimeLocation. com, said that although many homes in commuter towns had slipped in value, Salcombe was much sought after by rich second home buyers and was particularly popular in the yachting community.

He said: 'There's huge competition for all of the homes that come up there.

'It's like London in the sense that you have a limited number of homes competed for by a large number of wealthy people.

'Any property that comes up in Salcombe has five or six people bidding for it and they will all pay top dollar.'

Such is the reputation of Salcombe among second home buyers that it has the nickname 'Chelsea-on-Sea'.

Upon hearing the statistics, the committee of the Salcombe Tourist Information Centre said: 'We are proud but not surprised that Salcombe is ninth in the top millionaire homes in Britain – and the spin off from this market is vital to the economy.

'We are increasingly finding that the people who have stayed in the area's quality self-catering accommodation are realising the huge letting potential properties have and see this as a secure financial and holiday investment.

'This has a considerable 'knock on' effect for the restaurants, trades and shops in the area, all boosting the local economy.

'It is clear that the recession has not stopped these keen home hunters from securing the property of their dreams in order to enjoy the Salcombe lifestyle.'

Highest ranking in the survey was Virginia Water in Surrey with just under half of its homes worth £1million or more, followed by Radlett in Hertfordshire with 47 per cent and Cobham in Surrey with 39.5 per cent.

Across the UK, the average proportion of homes worth more than £1million is 3.1 per cent, making one in every 32 properties in the UK a £1milion home.