What a treat to own a seaside beach hut. You can gather with your family to picnic and shelter from the sun (and rain).
But how much would you be happy to pay for one? Experts say these candy-coloured huts can be the most expensive property in the UK – if not the world – by square foot (a staggering thought given that they have no loo and you can’t stay in one overnight).
One of Britain’s most expensive beach huts sold last year for £485,000. The turquoise-coloured shed on Mudeford Sandbank in Christchurch, Dorset, measured just 215 sq ft. This means the hut was worth £2,255.81 per sq ft. A square inch in the hut cost £15.60.
The average price in London’s most expensive area, Knightsbridge, is £1,557 per sq ft, according to HM Land Registry.
The UK average is £300 per sq ft, meaning the Mudeford beach hut is 651 per cent more expensive than the average British home.
The beach hut’s per-foot volume even beats the average in expensive cities globally, including Manhattan and Hong Kong. Per sq ft, the Dorset beach hut is worth almost double the Manhattan average of £1,100 and is more expensive than the Hong Kong average of £1,612.
‘This is where it starts to become bonkers’, says Marc von Grundherr, at London estate agent Benham & Reeves. ‘We’re talking about some of the most expensive property in the world.’
While it has the benefit of direct sea access, the hut’s new owners will not have running water or gas in the huts.
Experts say these candy-coloured huts can be the most expensive property in the UK – if not the world – by square foot
Amanda Dew, 59, who bought her beach hut in Felixstowe, Suffolk four years ago, says: ‘It’s been a sanctuary to go to after my husband died six years ago’
‘Beach huts are just wooden sheds, which wouldn’t cost more than £2,000 or £3,000 to build,’ says Bob May, of May’s real estate agency in West Sussex. ‘It’s the location that gives it value.’
Amanda Dew, 59, who bought her beach hut in Felixstowe, Suffolk four years ago for £88,000 disagrees and says it’s ‘worth more than just a shed’.
Amanda’s hut is only 56 sq ft. That means it’s worth £1,571 per sq ft – which is more expensive than Manhattan.
‘It’s a ridiculous amount of money for a wooden shack,’ she says, ‘but it’s been a sanctuary to go to after my husband died six years ago. It’s the fresh air, the beach and sea. If I had to make the choice between selling my house or my beach hut, I’d sell the house first. It’s an emotional investment and a financial one.’
When the beach hut was put up for sale it had received four offers of the asking price of £80,000 within a day, but Amanda was successful with a higher bid.
So why are people willing to pay so much?
Von Grundherr says demand is driving up the price. ‘Supply is extremely limited, and most beach huts aren’t for sale. They have long-term value because people want to own something by the sea. They provide the ultimate sea view property, especially if you can’t afford an actual property there. They’re also quintessentially English.’
In 2024, the price of beach huts increased by 7.9 per cent. The year before that the average price rose by 37.1 per cent, according to property firm eXp UK. By contrast, house prices saw an average 4.7 per cent rise last year.
This bright green hut is across the road from Felpham Beach in West Sussex. It has a deck for seating. £12,950. Bognor Regis: maysagents.co.uk
In Hayling Island, east of Portsmouth, this hut is on the beach and comes with a deck. £18,500. Hayling island: haylingproperty.co.uk
This multi-coloured beach hut, while not directly on the beach, faces the sea in Hove, East Sussex. £25,000. Hove: callawaysestateagents.co.uk
‘Beach huts seem to defy house prices and are an inflation-busting investment,’ adds von Grundherr.
For Amanda, her hut represents more than a financial investment. ‘It has let me connect with friends, family, swimmers and the local community after my husband passed away,’ she says. ‘I have birthday parties down there, too.’
If Amanda is not using it, she rents it out for £45 a day between October and May and charges £65 a day in the summer.
Despite the high purchase price, there are further costs for beach hut owners like Amanda.
In most cases you do not own the land the hut is on, so you pay an annual lease, usually to the local council.
Amanda paid £723 last year for her licence fee. On top of that, she spends about £300 a year on maintenance costs, such as repairing and sanding the deck.
Von Grundherr says: ‘My advice is to be very careful in what you are buying. Look at the ground rent and how long you have the lease for before you potentially get hit with a mountain of costs.’
Bob May says Arun District Council in West Sussex has made changes that have affected the value of beach huts. He has been selling them since 1995 and says now is the hardest time to sell since he started.
The council changed the law so that beach huts went from an annual licence that was automatically renewed each year to seven-year leases, with no guarantee of renewal after the lease ends.
If you decide to sell your beach hut, the council then charges you whatever is higher, either six times the annual ground rent or 20 per cent of the sale price for transferring the lease to the new owner, alongside any associated legal and agency fees.
This means that someone selling a beach hut for £12,000 may pay £6,000 in fees.
‘Elsewhere they have proven to be a beneficial investment, but in West Sussex I think the council have shot themselves in the foot. I have more beach huts for sale now than at any time in the past 30 years,’ says May. ‘Usually I would have three to four but at the moment I have 14.’
Aware that she does not own the land her beach hut stands on, Amanda fears her £88,000 investment may ‘turn to sand’ after 44 beach huts were removed by her local council on a neighbouring beach due to concerns about coastal erosion.
Despite complaints and legal help, the beach hut owners were powerless to stop the council. While some were found an alternative beach, many were moved to a cliff side with a metal fence surrounding it – destroying the value of the huts.
‘I would be absolutely devastated if that happened to me,’ says Amanda. ‘So find out whether or not there are any plans to remove the huts before you buy.
‘It would make me nervous to spend that kind of money now that I know they can be moved so easily,’ she says.
