A quaint three-floor timber beach hut that boasts its own cellar has been put on the market for significantly more than the average house in the UK.
The panelled wooden cabin comes with an open plan kitchen, a bedroom and its own cellar – all of which can be snapped up for £325,000, despite only being able to use the hut seasonally.
The 13ft by 9ft chalet offers undisturbed views of the harbour from its spot among 343 other huts on the the renownedly exclusive Mudeford Spit in Christchurch, Dorset.
The hut, which is numbered as 97 on the sandbank, gloats extra space than its average counterpart – and can sleep up to eight people.
Life for potential owners would differ from their neighbours through having a separate bedroom downstairs, in addition to the standard mezzanine level – which is used as a bedroom in other huts.
Notably it is not possible to get mortgages on the beach huts, prohibiting all new owners to only those who have cash-to-hand.
The mezzanine can be accessed by a loft hatch and ladder, with a lounge area doubling as a bedroom and advertised space for a further four people to sleep.
The hut also brags a cellar, adding storage space, along with its modernly equipped kitchen.
The 13ft by 9ft chalet offers undisturbed views of the harbour from its spot among 343 other huts on the the renownedly exclusive Mudeford Spit in Christchurch, Dorset
The panelled wooden cabin comes with an open plan kitchen, a bedroom and its own cellar – all of which can be snapped up for £325,000, despite only being able to use the hut seasonally
Life for potential owners would differ from their neighbours through having a separate bedroom downstairs
The hut also brags a cellar, adding storage space, along with its modernly equipped kitchen
Beach goers enjoyed the sunshine on the seaside resort of Bournemouth in Dorset on Bank Holiday Monday
Yet despite its six-figured price tag, the cabin, as with its neighbours, does not have running water, mains power or even a loo.
Rather owners must rely on bottled gas, solar panels and water tanks. And must trapse back-and-force to communal blocks for their personal needs, which includes shower facilities.
With the price tag of £325,000, the estimated value of the hut significantly jumps from the average house price in the UK of £270,000.
Or, a four-bed terraced house in a reportedly sought-after area of Burnley, Lancashire.
The hut also comes with storage space for watersports equipment and a sun deck to enjoy the views – which look out into Christchurch Harbour or out to sea and the Isle of Wight.
Cars are banned from Mudeford Spit, as owners must take a 20-minute walk, short ferry trip or a novelty land train ride to reach their huts.
The new owner would also be handed a £3,600 bill from the council for licensing fee – which has faced criticism recently after a recent rise.
The Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council rose the rates over claims owners were ‘sitting on a valuable asset’ and should therefore pay full rates for a second home – despite the fact the huts can only be slept in for eight months of the year.
The mezzanine can be accessed by a loft hatch and ladder, with a lounge area doubling as a bedroom and advertised space for a further four people to sleep
Cars are banned from Mudeford Spit, as owners must take a 20-minute walk, short ferry trip or a novelty land train ride to reach their huts
Numerous hut owners have owned their huts for generations, which have extortionately risen from their original listing of a few hundreds of pounds in the 1960s – as houses value can value close to the £500,000 mark
Sunseekers enjoyed Bournemouth beach, which was named the best beach in the UK last year, during the Easter Bank Holiday
Crowds congregated down the beach of the affluent area, where beach huts can value close to the £500,000 mark
This move enraged beach hut owners, who are currently entitled to a 50 per cent council tax discount, and sparked the Mudeford Sandbank Beach Hut Association to seek legal advice over the reclassification of their huts as second homes.
Now, under the BCP council’s new rules, the beach huts have been placed this month into band A, which will see well-heeled owners hand over £1,503 a year in tax.
Bills will also leap to £1,503-per-year, an increase of more than £60-per-month, as the council tries to raise an additional £211,000 for local services.
Numerous hut owners have owned their huts for generations, which have extortionately risen from their original listing of a few hundreds of pounds in the 1960s – as cabins can value close to the £500,000 mark.
While 231 huts are owned by those living outside of the local authority area.
The huts broke the six-figure mark in 2003 and peaked at £575,000 in 2021, mirroring the rise in popularity of staycations at the height of the Covid pandemic.
Andy Denison, who is the founder of the hut’s estate agent Denisons, said: ‘Beach huts had a huge peak after Covid. There was a huge demand in leisure purchases – people didn’t want to fly and the values went really stupid.
‘I would say the values are more at the 2018-2019 pre-Covid levels again now.
‘Sales are going well this year if people price them realistically.’
